In spite of an unpredictable operating environment characterized by global price instability and a tightening of monetary policy by Bank of Uganda to curb imported inflationary pressures, Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL) reported a half year profit-after-tax of UGX162billion ending June 30, 2022.
This is up from UGX158 billion recorded during the same period last year, indicating a 4.7% improvement.
Speaking during presentation of the SUHL 2022 half-year results, the Chief Executive, Andrew Mashanda, said, “our performance was driven largely by our anchor subsidiary, Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited. Our new subsidiaries are continuing to deliver green shoots of hope for our strategic direction, in spite of the challenging operating environment.”
Besides Stanbic Bank, the other SUHL subsidiaries are Stanbic Properties, SBG Securities, FlyHub and Stanbic Business Incubator. Mashanda said, “SBG Securities remains a market leader in volumes and recently acquired clients of Equity Stockbrokers (Uganda) Limited following the closure of its operations in the country on June 30, 2022, while our real estate arm, Stanbic Properties continues to grow and has become a thought leader in the real estate industry.”
He said, the subsidiaries had achieved operational synergy which is a very significant step towards the strategic intent of making SUHL a digital platform services business delivering superior value to both shareholders and customers.
Anne Juuko, the Stanbic Bank Chief Executive said, the first six months of 2022 presented a complex combination of ‘Head’ and ‘Tail’ winds that substantively affected both the global and the local economy. She said, effectively navigating these unprecedented times had been a challenge for various sectors in the economy, including the banking sector.
“We resolved to focus on delivering products and solutions that are attuned to these extraordinary times, keeping the customer at the center of all we do, and being relevant in the community in which we serve,” she said, adding, “this focused mission has allowed us to genuinely partner with our customers in accelerating the recovery of the economy.”
Juuko explained that Stanbic managed to deliver acceptable value for both customers and shareholders, recording 4.7% growth in Profit-After-Tax—from UGX158 billion to UGX165 billion—an 8.8% growth in Customer Deposits, from UGX5.7 trillion to UGX6.2 trillion and an increase from UGX 3.7 trillion to UGX3.8 trillion in Loans and Advances to customers.
“Our performance reflects targeted positioning for the progressive recovery of the economy, balanced credit risk appetite, prudent cost management and substantive investment in technology for innovation, notably Flexipay,” she said.
The introduction of Flexipay was also the basis on which Stanbic recently gained recognition from the widely respected International Banker publication for ‘Best Innovation in Retail Banking Award’.
Flexipay currently boasts over 275, 000 active wallets and 30, 000 merchants across the country. Juuko said, the Bank’s relentless focus on being relevant to its customers in the first half of the year provided a robust platform for sustained and accelerated growth in the second half of 2022.
Stanbic Bank operates on the mandate that ‘Uganda is our home, we drive her growth’ and the Bank plays a key role in supporting the country’s national development agenda.
Highlights from the latest results indicate lending to manufacturing reached UGX857 billion; agriculture, UGX323 billion and trade, UGX604 billion. Some 413 individuals and companies benefited from training provided by the Stanbic Business Incubator and its regional hubs.
Responsible Corporate citizenship
The Bank’s Back to School Boost Campaign launched at the start of the year was a timely intervention that helped over 2 000, 000 students to return to class thanks to the multifaced support extended to “our private school customers, parents and suppliers.”
“For instance, we wrote off nearly Ush.2billion in unpaid accrued interest rate income owed to us by schools for the period up to December 2021, this on account that they had been out of work for two years. This was a major relief as it allowed schools to start the year on a new slate,” said the Bank in its corporate citizenship report.
Through its Corporate Social Investment activities, Stanbic also directly supported 3000 pregnant mothers with Mama Kits donated through its “Every Mother Counts Maternal Health Campaign” in partnership with the Ministry of Health.