DCB Commercial Bank clears loss of Sh6.9bn
DCB Plc Finance chief Zacharia Kapama (second left), announces the bank’s financial performance for 2018 in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Others from left are DCB head of Marketing and Customer Service Rahma Ngassa, chief manager- Commercial James Ngaluko (second right). PHOTO|COURTESY DCB
What you need to know:
The DCB Commercial bank has managed to clear Sh6.9 billion losses recorded in 2017 by reporting a gross profit amounting Sh1.9 billion in 2018, due to cost cutting, digitalization of services and improved efficiency measures.
Dar es Salaam. The Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange-listed DCB Commercial Bank has cleared its debt, after posting a profit in 2018, thanks to cost-cutting measures, digitalisation of services and improved efficiency.
DCB finance director Zacharia Kapama said yesterday that last year, the bank posted a gross profit of Sh1.9 billion, up from a loss of Sh6.9 billion in 2017.
“We planned to clear the loss we recorded in 2017 by the end of last year. Some of the measures we undertook to reach that point included improving our operations, through cutting costs and dwell mostly on digital banking,” he said.
InterestThe Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange-listed DCB Commercial Bank has cleared its debt, after posting a profit in 2018, thanks to cost-cutting measures, digitalisation of services and improved efficiency income increased to Sh90.6 billion from Sh88.4 billion during the period.
Loans to productive sectors of the economy amounted to Sh65 billion last year, of which Sh21 billion was lent to small-scale enterprises.
He said nonperforming loans (NPLs) decreased to Sh264 million in 2018 from Sh4.5 billion the previous year. However, he admitted that the NPL rate remained flat at 18 per cent. But it is expected to fall in 2019 as strategies to do so have been drawn up.
“We insist on improving efficiency, which has enabled us to cut costs from Sh21 billion in 2017 to Sh16.9 billion in 2018.”
The bank wants to raise Sh8.9 billion through a rights issue, which is expected to be closed on Thursday.
Mr Kapama did not say how much has been raised from shareholders so far. A rights issue or rights offer is a dividend of subscription rights to buy additional securities in a company made to the company’s existing security holders.
When the rights are for equity securities, such as shares, in a public company, it is a non-dilutive pro rata way to raise capital.
With the issued rights, existing security-holders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new securities from the issuer at a specified price within a subscription period.
“We expect to record the growth of 20 per cent annually on our book of accounts.”
DCB commerce manager James Ngaluko said the bank’s number of customers rose to 175,204 in 2018 from 144,475 in 2017.
