Stanbic Bank records marginal jump in half-year profit to Sh6.6b
Business
By
Brian Ngugi
| Aug 07, 2026
Stanbic Holdings has reported a marginal increase in net profit to Sh6.61 billion for the six months ended June 2026, compared to Sh6.54 billion in the same period of 2025, representing a 0.8 per cent growth.
Earnings per share edged up 0.9 per cent to Sh16.71.
Total operating income for the half-year period rose 2.5 per cent to Sh19.93 billion from Sh19.45 billion, while net interest income increased 4.1 per cent to Sh12.31 billion from Sh11.83 billion.
However, total operating expenses climbed to Sh9.89 billion from Sh9.39 billion, eating into the lender's bottom line. Non-interest revenue remained largely flat at Sh7.61 billion, compared to Sh7.62 billion in the same period last year.
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On a positive note, credit impairment charges declined sharply by 50.2 per cent to Sh724.97 million, reflecting improved asset quality.
Despite the strong performance, Stanbic cut its interim dividend by more than half to Sh1.64 per share for the half-year period, reversing a four-year trend of rising payouts as the lender reported near-flat earnings growth.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm, which is the Kenyan unit of Africa's largest lender by assets, Standard Bank, announced an interim dividend of Sh1.64 per share.
This is a sharp drop from the Sh3.80 interim dividend paid in the same period last year.
The total payout to shareholders for the half-year stands at about Sh648.3 million, down from Sh1.50 billion a year earlier.
Standard Bank Group, which holds about 75 per cent of the lender, will walk away with about Sh486.2 million from the interim payout.
The dividend cut signals a more cautious approach by the lender, which had raised its payout per share for four consecutive years, culminating in a record Sh22.35 per share for the full year 2025.
That total comprised a final dividend of Sh18.55 and an interim dividend of Sh3.80. The latest interim payout of Sh1.64 is the lowest since the Sh1.84 interim dividend paid in September 2024.
The lender's balance sheet continued to expand, with total assets growing 27.1 per cent to Sh602.2 billion as at June 30, 2026, up from Sh541.3 billion at the end of 2025.
Customer deposits and debt funding rose 33.4 per cent to Sh467.5 billion from Sh418.6 billion over the same period, while net loans and advances grew 16.7 per cent to Sh360.2 billion.
The group also reported an 18 per cent growth in its SME customer base.
Stanbic Holdings Chief Executive Joshua Oigara had earlier disclosed that the group has a dividend policy of distributing between 60 per cent and 65 per cent of net earnings to shareholders.
The latest interim payout represents a sharp departure from this range, suggesting the lender is preserving capital to fund balance sheet growth amid persistent economic headwinds.
The dividend cut comes as banks face margin compression from Central Bank rate cuts and lower foreign exchange revenues, which have pressured traditional revenue streams.
The interim dividend of Sh1.64 per share is scheduled for payment on October 5, 2026.
The actual trend of payouts will emerge fully as more banks release their earnings results at a time they are navigating a challenging operating environment characterised by a slowing economy and heightened credit risks.
Stanbic Holdings is the second lender to release its earnings after NCBA Group released its half-year results on Wednesday.
NCBA, Kenya's third-largest banking group by customer base, reported a 12.2 per cent jump in half-year net profit to Sh12.4 billion, driven by a 15.1 per cent increase in operating income to Sh40.7 billion.
The NCBA board declared an interim dividend of Sh3.75 per share, up from Sh2.50 in the prior year, payable to shareholders on the register as at August 28, 2026.
Based on NCBA's issued share capital of 1.65 billion ordinary shares, its total dividend payout amounts to Sh6.18 billion.