Equity Group Holdings Plc has continued to deliver solid financial results, underpinned by the Group’s strategic focus on diversification, innovation, and regional expansion.
With strong liquidity, capital buffers, and robust regional businesses, the Group is poised to maintain its leadership position in the region and continue driving sustainable growth.
While releasing the full year 2024 results, Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Group Holdings Plc Managing Director, and CEO expressed pride in the resilience demonstrated by the Group amidst a challenging global economic landscape.
“Our financial strength gives us the flexibility to seize opportunities as the regional economy presents diversified levers for growth. The Group’s liquidity and capital position remains strong, positioning us to better support our customers in the years ahead,” stated Dr. Mwangi.
In FY 2024, Equity Group Holdings Plc achieved a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Sh48.8 billion, reinforcing the continued success of the Group’s diversified business model and prudent financial management.
The Group’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) grew by 17 percent to Sh60.7 billion, while Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose by 11 percent to Sh12.3, signifying the Group’s robust financial performance.
Meanwhile, the Group’s total deposits grew to Sh1.4 trillion with the customer base growing to 21.6 million, showcasing the scale and reach of the deposit franchise.
According to the CEO, the Group’s liquidity position remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents rising by 19 percent to Sh345 billion, while investment securities grew to Sh512 billion, contributing to an overall liquidity ratio of 57 percent.
The Group, he affirmed, demonstrated commitment to its shareholders by proposing a dividend of Sh4.25 per share, a payout ratio of 34.5 percent, reinforcing its track record of delivering value to its shareholders.
This is supported by a return on equity (ROE) of 21.5 percent and a return on assets (ROA) of 2.8 percent, both of which, he claims, are well above industry averages.
Further, Dr. Mwangi noted that the Group’s strategic focus on regional expansion and product diversification continues to drive growth, with the Group’s regional subsidiaries contributing 49 percent of total assets, 48 percent of total loans and 54 percent of profit before tax, further diversifying the revenue base.
Despite the global operating environment characterized by unprecedented geopolitical shifts, the CEO maintained that the Group’s defensive and prudent approach to risk management was evident in its loan loss provisions, which amounted to Sh20.2 billion.
“The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio remained below industry average at 12.2 percent, significantly lower than the 16.4 percent published industry average. NPL coverage stands at 71 percent, reinforcing the Group’s strong asset quality,” he disclosed.
Additionally, he revealed that the Life Assurance business continues to register impressive performance, with YoY profit before tax growing by 58 percent to Sh1.5 billion from Sh934 million.
Further, the robust strategy for investment of policyholder funds resulted in a gross declared return of 13.5 percent, signaling Equity’s Group capabilities to provide value to the over 14 million policies issued since inception in March 2022.
With an eye on long-term value creation, the Group’s acquisition of a general insurance license, in addition to its existing life assurance license, marked an exciting milestone.
This move, he asserts, enhances the Group’s ability to offer a comprehensive suite of insurance solutions, ensuring that customers across all segments; corporate, SME, and retail can access integrated solutions that protect their life, health, and wealth.
“We continue to expand our financial services ecosystem; our Bancassurance unit remains a vital component of our growth strategy,” noted Dr. Mwangi, saying the 6 percent increase in premium collections, despite the current market challenges, underscores the unit’s potential.
“To unlock further growth, we invested heavily in the unit’s repositioning, focusing on talent development, digital transformation, and process enhancements. This medium-to long-term strategy will allow us to deliver a more integrated, customer-centric experience, where insurance is a key player in our customers’ overall financial well-being. Encouragingly, our insurance premium financing solution has seen a significant 50 percent increase in uptake, reflecting our dedication to supporting customers through uncertain times as they prioritize protecting their health, life and assets,” he added.
Regarding investment in technology, the CEO announced that the value of business processed through Equity Mobile YoY, increased by 67 percent from Sh 1.895 trillion to Sh 3.174 trillion, while Equity Online for business (EazzyBiz) increased by 21 percent from Sh 3.165 trillion to Sh 3.841 trillion.
The interoperable Pay with Equity (PWE) for merchants increased by 14 percent from Sh 1.884 trillion to Sh2.149 trillion.
Further, ATM withdrawals increased by 21 percent from Sh398.6 billion to Sh481.4 billion as customers and Kenyans at large embraced the newly introduced Cash Deposit Machines to ease the pain for businesses looking to access their cash after banking hours.
He also mentioned that branches are evolving to be more SME, large enterprise, and corporates focused, with transaction volumes increasing by 21 percent from Sh 4.176 trillion to Sh 5.046 trillion.
On the other hand, Dr. Mwangi reported that the Equity Leaders Program (ELP) continues to make a significant impact, with 113 scholars having received full scholarships to pursue university education in top global universities.
He said the program has already produced over 970 global scholars on full scholarship distributed across various sectors, having attended 233 different universities in 37 countries and six continents.
He recalled that the ELP program recently admitted a new cohort of 750 scholars into the pre-university internship program, bringing the total number of ELP scholars supported by the Group to date to 29,515 which cumulatively, has facilitated 9,700 paid internships and provided opportunities for 3,979 TVET scholars.
Dr. Mwangi insisted that the Group remains a leader in climate action, having planted over 35 million trees and extended more than USD 200 million in climate finance to support climate resilience initiatives.
In promoting the clean energy transition, he added, Equity Group Foundation has championed the distribution of 466,975 clean energy products to households and institutions.
In promoting economic empowerment, the CEO disclosed that 2,477,358 women and youth received training on financial education with 634,059 MSMEs receiving capacity building on entrepreneurship.
Under the Young Africa Works Program, he announced that Sh340.8B has been disbursed to 323,303 MSMEs reiterating that the Group’s social protection programs have reached 5.79 million individuals, with Sh164.2B disbursed via cash transfers.
In health, Dr. Mwangi said that the Equity Afya Clinics have cumulatively recorded 3,343,889 patient visits across 132 outpatient medical centers.
He proclaimed, “Equity Group remains committed to driving positive change. Our focus on financial inclusion, regional expansion, and sustainable growth will enable us to continue being a catalyst for economic empowerment and resilience across Africa. As we move forward, we remain optimistic about the future and will continue to leverage our strengths to create long-term value and impact for our customers and shareholders.”
By Michael Omondi
