EQUITY GROUP POSTS IMPRESSIVE KSH 75.5BILLION PROFITS

By Our Reporter

Equity Group Holdings Plc has announced record FY2025 results in Kenya’s corporate history, posting a 55% increase in Profit After Tax of KSh75.5 billion, up from KSh48.8 billion. The performance reflects the Group’s successful business transformation, diversified revenue growth, enhanced efficiency, and robust regional contributions. The balance sheet expanded by 9% to KSh1.97 trillion (FY2024: KSh1.8 trillion), with customer deposits rising 4% to KSh1.46 trillion (FY2024: KSh1.40 trillion) and net loans increasing 8% to KSh882.5 billion (FY2024: KSh819.2 billion). The Group closed the year with 22.4 million customer accounts, supported by a strong regional distribution and digital ecosystem.

Strong revenue performance saw net interest income grow 17% to KSh 126.9billion, non‑funded income rise 7% to Ksh90.8 billion, and total income increase by 12% to Kshs 217.7 billion (FY2024: KSh193.8 billion). Operational efficiency improved significantly, with the cost‑to‑income ratio falling to 51.0% from 58.2%, driven by continued migration to self‑service channels, productivity gains, and tighter cost discipline supported by Group-wide shared services and digital infrastructure. Over 98% of customer transactions were conducted outside branches, with 88.4% processed through digital channels, reflecting continued demand for digital services with increased investment in customer‑centric digital infrastructure. Loan loss provisions declined 28%, while NPL coverage strengthened to 67.7%, supported by a reduced cost of risk of 1.7%.

Commenting on the results, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr. James Mwangi said the performance demonstrates the strength of the Group’s strategic transformation, driven by diversified revenue streams, improved efficiency and growing contributions from regional subsidiaries: “The 2025 performance reflects the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional financial services group. We delivered strong profit growth by expanding and deepening our income streams, improving efficiency across the franchise, and strengthening the quality of our balance sheet. Importantly, our regional subsidiaries now contribute about half of our banking profitability, demonstrating the value of our pan-African footprint and the resilience that comes from diversification.”

On the back of this performance, the Directors have recommended a dividend of Kshs 5.75 per share, up from Kshs 4.25 amounting to a payout of Kshs 21.7 billion (2024: Kshs 16 billion), representing a 35.3% growth in dividends. 

Equity Bank Kenya Limited (EBKL) reported a 63% rise in profit after tax to KSh39.2 billion (FY2024: KSh24.1 billion), driven by a 28% increase in net interest income and a 37% reduction in interest expense. Shareholders’ funds grew 11% to KSh136.2 billion, while returns on assets and equity strengthened to 3.9% from 2.4% and 26.8% from 20.2%, respectively. The performance reinforces EBKL’s leadership in supporting enterprise growth, with the Bank having been recognised at the Kenya Bankers Association Sustainable Finance Initiative (KBA SFI) Awards as the Best Bank for MSME Financing contributing 45% of all banks lending to SMEs. 

Regional operations accounted for about half of Group profitability in FY2025, underscoring Equity’s emergence as a pan-African financial services group. In the DRC, profit after tax rose 58% to KSh24.7 billion, supported by 17% loan growth. Uganda’s profit after tax jumped 500% to KSh3.6 billion, while Rwanda posted profit after tax of KSh5.4 billion, with total assets up 5% and the loan book expanding 22%. Tanzania’s profit after tax grew 125% to KSh2.7 billion, alongside a 75% increase in shareholders’ funds. Overall, subsidiaries contributed 51% of banking profit before tax and 48% of banking profit after tax.

Equity Insurance Group continued its strong expansion, driven by newly acquired life, general, and health underwriting licenses. Gross written premiums rose by 75% to Kshs 9.17 billion, delivering Profit Before Tax growth of 36% to Kshs 2.0 billion, and a 150% rise in insurance revenue to Kshs 3.57 billion. All subsidiaries delivered solid growth: Equity Life Assurance which delivered a Profit Before Tax of KShs 1.77 Billion now serves unique 6.9 million customers with 19.2 million policies issued since inception, Equity General Insurance reported Kshs 1.79 billion in Gross Written Premiums and Kshs 199 million in Profit Before Tax in its first year of operations whilst Equity Health Insurance reported Gross Written Premium of KShs 20 Million and KShs 40 million in Profit Before Tax in its first 4 months of operations