Equity Bank has posted a Rwf194.4 million net profit for the first half of this year compared to the Rwf806.3 million loss it made in the same period last year, a financial statement from the lender indicates.

According to the statement, the firm registered an increase in its total operating income from Rwf 2.11 billion end June last year to Rwf3.7 billion this year.

However, it saw an increase in total operating expenses from Rwf2.9 billion to Rwf3.4 billion during the period.

Its total assets went close to doubling during the period, increasing from Rwf38.8 billion end June last year to Rwf57.4 billion this year.

The firm, which plans to cross-list on the Rwanda Stock Exchange early next year, also saw its loan book grow from Rwf16.7 billion last year to Rwf33.5 billion, mainly due to an uptake of mortgage loans which increased from Rwf7.4 billion to Rwf12.4 billion.

However, non-performing loans from the bank shot up during the period, closing at Rwf 1.2 billion in June this year from Rwf 209.9 million last year.