Kenya: Diamond Trust Bank’s net profit rises to 6pc in third quarter

Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed lender, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has announced a 5.7 per cent increase in profit after tax for the nine months to September helped by higher interest income.

The financier has netted Sh4.05 billion net profit for the period up from Sh3.83 billion last year.

DTB’s net interest income grew to Sh9.45 billion up from Sh9.32 billion last year mainly driven by interest from government securities which rose from Sh6.85 billion to Sh7.74 billion.

Gross non-performing loans shot to 57.5 per cent to Sh22.96 billion up from Sh14.57 billion indicating borrowers are still struggling to repay their loans due to the prolonged effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, loan loss provisions rose from Sh1.77 billion to Sh1.78 billion recorded in the same period last year while customer deposits grew to Sh7.27 billion up from Sh6.72 billion.

DTB joins a number of lenders that have announced positive results for the nine-month period mainly driven by higher revenues from loan and government securities interest setting the stage for increased full-year earnings.