Standard Bank Namibia (SBN) has shaken off the adverse impact of Covid-19 in its 2022 year-end results after the bank recorded increased profit for the year of 70.5%, up from N$366 million to N$624 million. This is according to the bank’s annual report for 2022, released last week.
“2022 has been a year of renewed recovery for the group with strong growth in profit after tax of over 70%. SBN also successfully raised N$400 million in its debut green bond issuance, enabling the group to accelerate its progress in transitioning to a low carbon economy,” said Letitea du Plessis, chief financial officer at the bank.
Yesterday at a results breakfast, Mercia Geises, CEO at the bank stated the improvement in profit was driven by an increase in the repo rate and an improvement of the collection strategy to reduce credit impairment charges.
Geises added: “Last year, I referred to resilience as the capacity of any entity to prepare for disruptions, to recover from shocks and stresses, and adapt and grow through disruptive experience. In 2022, we are in fact realising the resilience dividend following the credible performance”.
She noted the bank embarked on the delivery of strategic priorities during the year under review with optimism and encouragement, to build on sound management and governance frameworks with the aim of restoring performance to pre-pandemic levels, which she said was “indeed a stretched aspiration for the team”.
Additionally, the transactional values on the platform have grown 20.8% and revenue increased by 17% year-on-year, while the active customer base has increased by a remarkable 98.3%.
Looking ahead, Herbert Maier, the chairman of the bank, noted challenges are expected to remain as geopolitical tension, climate events, global supply chain disruptions, and higher food and oil prices will continue to drive volatility and growing socioeconomic challenges due to the increased cost-of-living and higher household debt.
“We remain optimistic about the reforms ahead that are likely to come to fruition towards the end of the mid-term expenditure framework. Large structural investments in both the green and blue economies, as well as the discovery of offshore oil, place Namibia in an excellent position to become an energy powerhouse on the African continent over the medium- to longer-term and alleviate its, and the region’s energy needs,” he said.
According to him, these factors have the potential to accelerate economic growth moving forward, and the bank is well-positioned to navigate this future with strategic partners.
Maier stated they are also looking forward to assisting clients in these industries to achieve their aspirations.
The strategy for 2023, he said will continue to focus on their clients, people as well as operational excellence, thereby ensuring that people, processes and systems are properly aligned to continue to deliver appealing and relevant customer value propositions across all segments.