Even though Uganda is one of the many countries that are feeling the inflation pinch, Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL), seems to be reaping big from the situation as the institution registered a 4.7 percent income growth.
The 4.7 percent growth translates into 7 billion shillings compared to the business’s 158 billion shillings muscle by end of the year 2021. SUHL’s executive director, Andrew Mashanda, attributed the income growth to their anchor subsidiary Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited.
“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,” Mashanda said.
Mashanda made the remarks while presenting SUHL’s 2022 half-year performance, to the chief executives. Other branches that have seen SUHL growth according to Mashanda include Stanbic Properties, SBG Securities, Fly Hub, and Stanbic Business Incubator.
“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,” Mashanda said.
Anne Juuko, the Stanbic Bank Chief Executive said, the first six months of 2022 presented a complex combination of head and tailwinds that substantively affected both the global and the local economy.
“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.”
According to Juuko, Stanbic managed to deliver acceptable value for both customers and shareholders thus registering growth in profit after tax, growth in customer deposits, and increase in loan advances to clients.
“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 Flex pay,” she said.
In a nutshell, SUHL recorded profit-after-tax from 158 billion shillings to 165 billion shillings, customer deposits grew from 5.7 trillion shillings to 6.2 trillion shillings, and an increase in loan advances which show an increase from 3.7 trillion shillings to 3.8 trillion shillings.
Flex pay is the basis on which Stanbic recently gained recognition from the widely respected International Banker publication for the ‘Best Innovation in Retail Banking Award’. 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.