Regional Financial Services Group, I&M Group PLC has announced an increase of 33 per cent after-tax profit for its 2021 half-year financial results up from UGX 102.5 billion to UGX 134.6 billion.
In a statement, the Group says its Total Assets recorded a growth of 12 per cent to close at UGX 12.2 trillion up from UGX 10.9 trillion in June 2020, bolstered by expansion into Uganda and increased private and public sector lending.
The Group adds that the acquisition of Orient Bank Ltd (OBL) in Uganda has expanded the Group’s balance sheet by UGX 753 billion as of the reporting date.
Net interest income also recorded growth of 28 per cent to UGX 285.2 billion up from UGX 221.1 billion in June 2020 attributed to increased interest income from government securities.
The Group’s total Non-Funded Income reduced by 6 per cent to UGX 124.9 billion from UGX 134.6 billion.
Net non-performing loans reduced by 8 per cent compared to June 2020, to close at UGX 240.3 billion attributed to strengthened remedial actions in improving the loan book quality.
Customer deposits recorded a 10 per cent growth from UGX 8.09 trillion in June 2020 to UGX 8.87 trillion as at June 2021.
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Commenting on the Group’s financials, Daniel Ndonye, I&M Group PLC Chairman said the Group’s focus on increased lending to both the private and the public sector was key in determining the bank’s growth at a time when economies world over were hard hit by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is on the back of strong capital and liquidity base at group and country levels reported all well above regulatory minimums.
At the Group level, capital adequacy ratios closed at 21 per cent at the same level as the previous year, while the liquidity ratio was 48 per cent well above the statutory minimum of 20 per cent.
The period under review saw the Group finalise the acquisition of a 90 per cent shareholding in Uganda’s OBL, which the bank says is part of the Group’s broader regional expansion strategy to serve the needs of all customers at the local and regional level while promoting trade flows within the region.
“We will continue to focus on our customers across all the banking segments through a series of products and innovations that are tailored to enhance customers banking experience across all our subsidiaries” he added
During the period under review, the Group also rolled out, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, I&M Capital Limited, a host of Wealth Management solutions, which is expected to boost revenue diversification through the provision of customized investment solutions, asset management, retirement income and financial planning for high network individuals.
Additionally, the Rwandan and Tanzanian subsidiaries launched Whatsapp banking, as part of the Group’s digital transformation journey to provide customers with freedom of modern banking.
“We will also continue to invest and offer cutting edge technologically driven solutions to our customers and expand opportunities to attract more investors,” Ndonye added.
The Group’s Executive Director, Sarit Raja Shah underscored significant investment made during the first half of 2021, saying that along with innovation of market-driven solutions, the Group has also made significant investments in new systems across the Group in a bid to increase operational efficiencies and improve their customers’ banking experience.
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Further, the Group progressed on its strategic effort to create long-term value for stakeholders, through continued investments in Environmental, Social and Governance initiatives as a means to building resilience as well as to mitigate against emergent operational, cyber and credit risk.
During the period under review, the Bank invested in a new Risk Management infrastructure for Anti-Money Laundering, Operational Risk and Fraud Management, as a key step in protecting its customers from the threat of financial crime on the Bank’s systems.
Through the I&M Foundation, the Group collaborated with like-minded organisations to drive its shared growth agenda in key thematic areas namely: Education and Skills development, Environmental Conservation, Economic Empowerment and Enabling Giving.
