The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has recommended a dividend payout to shareholders of Kes 1.5 per share, amounting to Kes 8.8 billion for the full year ending December 2023, pending regulatory and stockholder approvals.

This is after the lender recorded a 5.5 percent increase in profit after tax in the 12 months to December 2023, which was a figure of 23.4 billion compared to a similar period in 2022.

Co-op Bank Group Managing Director and CEO Gideon Muriuki revealed that its operating income grew by 0.6 percent to Kes 71.7 billion, up from Kes 17.3 billion in the same period.

While income from the non-interest segment expanded by 2.8 percent to Kes 26.5 billion, revenue from interest dropped marginally to Kes 45.2 billion in 2023, down from Kes 45.5 billion.

“Kingdom Bank Limited (A niche MSME Bank) contributed a Profit Before Tax of Kes 1.08 Billion in FY2023, a remarkable growth of 36.4% from Kes 792.6 Million reported in FY2022,” the bank stated.

“Co-operative Bank of South Sudan that is a unique joint venture (JV) partnership with Government of South Sudan (Co-op Bank 51% and GOSS 49%) made a Profit Before Tax of Kes 291.3 Million in FY2023 compared to Kes 132.7 million in 2022, a 119.5% growth.”

Further, total operating expenses decreased by 6.1 percent, from Kes 42.2 billion to Kes 39.7 billion.