NCBA Group PLC reports profit after tax growth of 12.6% to KES 11.1 billion

NCBA Group PLC “Group” has posted a profit after tax of KES 11.1 billion in its H1 2025 financial results, which is a 12.6 per cent increase compared to KES 9.8 billion reported during a similar period in 2024.

Key Highlights

• Profit before tax of KES 13.6 billion, 11.4 per cent up year on year.

• Profit after tax of KES 11.1 billion, 12.6 per cent up year on year.

• Operating income of KES 35.3 billion,12.7 per cent up year on year.

• Operating expenses of KES 18.6 billion,12.5 per cent up year on year.

• Provision for credit losses was KES 3.2 billion, 19.1 per cent up year on year.

• Digital Loans disbursed were KES 646 billion, 35 per cent up year on year.

• Customer deposits closed at KES 497 billion, 6.0 per cent down year on year.

• Total Assets closed at KES 663 billion, 3.8 per cent down year on year.

The Group`s strong performance enabled the Board of Directors to recommend an interim dividend declaration of KES 2.50 per share.

Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director John Gachora remarked,

“I’m pleased to announce our H1 2025 financial results, which highlight a rebound and positive momentum in business performance. The income growth of 13 per cent was driven by a combination of operational excellence and prudent pricing management despite a challenging economic environment.”

“Our focus on maintaining high-quality assets and enhanced recoveries was evident with the NPL ratio of 11.9 per cent and cost of risk at 1.4 per cent. We maintained a capital adequacy ratio of 22.4 per cent, well above regulatory requirements and sufficient to meet our lending requirements and invest in strategic growth opportunities.”

“ In our mission to make customers’ lives easier, NCBA Bank Kenya Shillings Base Lending Rate (NBLR) since August 2024 has dropped by 4.02 per cent while over the same period, the CBR has dropped by 3.50 per cent.”

Key Business Highlights

The Kenya Bank subsidiary delivered strong performance in H1 2025, recording a notable year-over-year profitability growth of 7.4 per cent to reach KES 11 billion PBT. This was a contribution of 81 per cent to Group profitability, driven by improved cost of funding and better Net Interest Income, which grew 32 per cent. The Regional businesses delivered a strong performance driven by recoveries with a combined PBT of KES 1.8 billion, contributing 13.6 per cent to Group profitability.

The non-banking subsidiaries recorded a combined PBT of KES 804 million, contributing 5.9 per cent of Group profitability and growing 40 per cent year over year. Notably, the NCBA Investment Bank surpassed 50,000 clients through digital onboarding and cross-sell wins, with assets under management growing to KES 86 billion. The NCBA Insurance business profitability grew 68 per cent year-on-year post-full acquisition, signalling successful integration into the Group.

To improve customer accessibility, the Group grew its network to 122 branches across the region, with Kenya crossing the 100-branch mark post-launching the Nord Ruiru branch. The combination of innovative retail banking services, including digital account onboarding, digital lending products, diaspora and SME banking activations and the continued waiver of monthly account fees resulted in growing our core bank customer base to 412,000, while our overall customer base approached the 70 million mark.

The Group retained its Asset Finance Leadership of 31 per cent market share through expanded dealer partnerships and innovations. The enhanced “CarDuka” digital platform now offers customers improved functionality, such as insurance products, and has a revamped user experience and seamless user interface powered by AI. NCBA’s upgraded “ConnectPlus” online corporate banking platform saw robust adoption by over 90 per cent of active clients who now have access to faster transaction processing, expanded payment options, enhanced reporting tools, cash liquidity management and integrations with other financial services platforms.

In its strategy to develop a High-Performance Employee Culture, the Group officially welcomed the newest cohort of 50 young, driven, and ambitious interns to the 3rd edition of the NCBA Go-Getter Internship Program. This marked the beginning of a 12-month journey filled with learning and networking designed to shape their careers.

NCBA made progress in its Change The Story Sustainability commitments by:

• Mobilizing and steering KES 9.5 billion of Green and Sustainable Financing.

• Nurturing and planting a total of 396,459 trees together with multiple partners.

• Empowering 55,335 women and youth with targeted skills building and mentorship.

• Engaging 8,420 participants through golf, cycling and national sports partnerships.

• Creating 9,238 direct and indirect jobs through stakeholder impact collaborations.

• Deploying KES 90+ million to support community initiatives and golf sponsorships.

• Overall, impacting 743,768 livelihoods through ongoing community engagements.

Awards

In recognition for being a Distinguished Brand Known for Customer Experience, NCBA was awarded for Exceptional Customer Experience by the KBA 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey, Excellence in Asset Finance by the International Center for Strategic Alliance, Second Best participating Bank in the 2024 Training Programs by the Tanzania Institute of Bankers, Best Overall Banking Experience by Banking on Women Awards and the 6th most valuable brand in Kenya by Brand Finance.

Looking Forward

Looking ahead, Mr. Gachora commented.

“The operating environment indicators are positive, including global growth outlook of 3.0 per cent, stable KES/USD currency at KES 129, inflation within target at 4.1 per cent and the latest Kenya CBR downward revision to 9.50 per cent. The interventions by the Government are expected to stimulate economic activity and accelerate credit uptake by the private sector, whose growth is at 3.3 per cent.”

“NCBA remains committed to delivering strong financial performance backed by continued strategic investments in people, technology and brand while fostering a customer-obsessed culture to drive sustainable growth”