Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has announced a profit before tax of Sh9.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022, a significant 44 per cent increase from the previous year.
DTB’s 2022 after-tax profits also surged by 54 per cent during the year to Sh6.8 billion on the back of enhanced interest income earnings and fee income growth during the year.
The bank’s asset base closed at Sh527 billion, accounting for a 15 per cent growth in 2022 as customer deposits closed at Sh388 billion, which was a 17 per cent above the previous year.
During the year in review, DTB’s banking subsidiaries in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi made up a third of the Group’s assets and profitability.
Due to the bank’s strong performance, the Board proposed a dividend payout of Sh1.4 billion or Sh5.00 per share, reflecting a 67 per cent growth in the dividends paid last year.
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DTB Chairman Linus Gitahi says the Board will continue to progressively grow its dividend payouts due to the bank’s improving performance while creating an equitable balance between rewarding shareholders and retaining capital to fund its ambitious growth plans.
“We continue to maintain our strategic focus of pivoting DTB as a socio-economically relevant corporate citizen of East Africa and this is characterised by the significant investments we have been making, particularly since last year, in expanding our geographic and digital footprint in the region,” said Gitahi.
DTB embarked on a rapid branch expansion strategy and has so far unveiled 10 new branches since July 2022 in Kenya alone and plans to open 20 more in the next nine months.
The strategy will grow DTB’s footprint in East Africa to more than 150 branches by the end of 2023.
Its digital transformation plan adopted in 2022 aims to build capacity, foster partnerships with fintechs and other tech firms and offer innovative and varied digital solutions to clients.
DTB Group has reserved more than Sh3 billion to finance investments it has instigated since 2022 to strengthen its branch expansion and realise its digital transformation agenda.
DTB CEO Nasim Devji expressed the Group’s confidence that its investment in branch expansion and digital transformation will give value to its shareholders and customers.
“We believe that the investments we are making in our people, branch and digital platforms will deliver, not just convenience and ease of access to our customers, but also provide them with innovative value propositions which speak to their needs,” said Devji.
Devji notes that DTB is already enjoying fruits of its strategic growth initiatives with a 54 per cent increase in its East Africa customer base and its financial performance growth in 2022.
