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Its non-performing loans moved slightly from 3.95% to 3.97%
Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Centenary Bank has defied the effects of coronavirus pandemic to record a 3.4% growth in net profit to Shs161.2bn for the year ended Dec. 2020.
According to the bank’s financial statements, total assets increased from Shs3.57 trillion to Shs4.49 trillion, crossing the shs4trillion mark for the first time since the bank was established in 1983 as a credit trust and a fully-fledged commercial bank in 1993.
Its Managing Director, Fabian Kasi, said the 2020 performance demonstrates resilience in the market amidst a tough business environment.
“Our overall performance and position in the banking industry, depicts our resolve in continuously delivering value to our customers and all other stakeholders,” he said.
“We leveraged on technology, people and strong rooted relationships, to deliver good performance, despite the year’s challenging operating environment,” he added.
Kasi said, the bank’s double digit growth in assets is attributed to an increase in customer deposits enhanced within the use of financial technology such as agent banking and CenteMobile.
He said, the bank’s non-performing loans moved slightly from 3.95% to 3.97% though still below the industry average of 4.4%, demonstrating the astuteness in managing credit risk.
The bank grew its agent network to 3,659 countrywide, effecting over a third of the bank’s customer transactions. On CenteMobile, the bank introduced a low-balance account for customers called the CenteXpress savings account.
Meanwhile, the bank’s operating income grew from Shs614.3billion in 2019 to Shs649.4billion in 2020 as customer deposits steadily increased by 23.9% from Shs2.53 trillion in 2019 to Shs 3.13 trillion during the same period under review.
On the tax compliance side, the lender collected and remitted taxes of Shs 107.7 billion to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), hence boosting the government’s revenue mobilization efforts.
This consisted of Pay as You Earn, Corporation tax, Excise Duty, VAT, Stamp Duty and Withholding tax.
Going forward
Following the global disruption of people’s ways of life and business activities by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank has embraced and is adapting to the “new normal” in order to rebuild a sustainable future in delivery of financial services to customers.
“As a bank, we shall continuously strive to deliver tailor-made and innovative products and services for our customers, with support of our improved systems and outlets,” Kasi said, adding “As the future is digital led, we shall continue to ensure increased efficiency in our operations using technology while having a balanced human interface with our customers.”
He said centenary bank kicked off 2021 with focus on achieving its strategic objectives through improving customer service, system stabilisation, staff capacity building to sustain continued growth both in deposits and loans while optimising costs and keeping a high-quality portfolio.
The bank’s ownership comprises the Catholic Dioceses of Uganda (38.5%), the Uganda Catholic Secretariat (31.3%), International Solidarity for Development and Investment based in France (11.6%) and the Stichting Hivos – Triodos Fonds in the Netherlands (18.3%) along with four individuals (0.3%).
Key performance highlights
- Profit after tax increased from Shs155.9 billion in 2019 to Shs 161.2 billion in 2020 registering an increase of 3.4%.
- Operating income grew from Shs 614.3 billion in 2019 to Shs 649.4 billion in 2020 representing a growth of 5.7%.
- Customer deposits steadily increased by 23.9% from Shs 2.53 trillion in 2019 to Shs 3.13 trillion in 2020.
- The Bank closed the year with 76 Branches having expanded its footprint by 2 additional branches in Busia and Bweyale. The number of ATMs also grew from 179 to 188 serving in 127 locations.
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