|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
PostBank on Tuesday announced its financial results reporting a 19% increase in net profit for the year ended December 31st, 2022. The state-owned bank reported that net profit reached UGX 15.1 billion, up from the UGX 12.2 billion reported in 2021.
PostBank’s total assets grew significantly, by 21.3% from UGX 745 billion in 2021 to UGX 946. 6 billion in 2022, which is almost 1 trillion. The bank’s total income also increased from UGX 144.5 billion in 2021 to UGX 159.2 billion in 2022.
Andrew Otengo Owiny, the Board Chairman of PostBank, expressed his satisfaction with the bank’s performance, noting that the bank focused on improving its operations’ efficiency and customer service.
“We opened 5 new branches, rolled out smart ATMs, enhanced the PostApp and started on a journey to serve the Parish Development Model with a solution that ensures funds reach the final beneficiary. It is still awaiting regulatory approval,” he said.
He added that considering where the bank was 3 years ago, PBU has made tremendous strides in the right direction.
“We are looking forward to a future where we take leadership in supporting Agribusiness and Micro Small & Medium Enterprises support which are core to the economy of this country,” Mr Otengo said.
Julius Kakeeto, Managing Director, PostBank Uganda, thanked the shareholders- the government of Uganda for their commitment to the bank and for resolving to recapitalise the bank with UGX19 billion of retained earnings as of December 31st 2022.
This will allow the bank to meet the regulatory capitalisation requirements of UGX120 billion.
The bank already had paid-up capital of UGX112 billion before that.
In a new regulatory move, all banks in Uganda were required to increase their minimum capital from UGX25 billion to UGX120 billion by the end of 31st of December 2022 and UGX150 billion by June 2024.
The bank said it is confident it will meet the June 2024 targets of achieving UGX150 billion capitalisation.
The bank attributed part of the growth to the rollout of its digital channels that among others include PostMobile, PostApp, PostOnline, PostAgents and smart ATMs. Digital transactions represented 60% of all bank transactions for the year, compared to about 10% per cent years ago.
“In 2022, our focus was on improving the efficiency of operations. Our visibility and outreach have increased tremendously,” Mr. Owiny, said.
Addressing the media after the shareholder’s Annual General Meeting held at the Ministry of Finance Boardroom, the government, represented by Minister Evelyn Anite, the state minister for Investment and Privatization, commended the Board and Management of PostBank for the stellar performance over the last 3 years. She challenged them to sustain this level of performance to serve more Ugandans.
The bank’s end-of-year accounts and accompanying financial statements were audited by the Auditor General and found consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the Uganda Companies’ Act, and the amended Financial Institutions Act 2004.