BK Group Plc recorded an after-tax profit of Rwf51.9 billion in 2021, a 35 per cent growth compared to the previous year when it registered Rwf38.4 billion. Before Covid-19, in 2019, the group posted Rwf37.3 billion in profits after tax. The group registered strong performance across all its four subsidiaries— Bank, BK General Insurance, BK TecHouse and BK Capital, according to its consolidated financials, which were released on March 31, 2021. Notable growth was from the group’s largest subsidiary, the banking arm where clients’ balances and deposits grew by 23 per cent. It is a record hit compared to the past years, said Diane Karusisi, the group’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have been trying to grow our deposits faster than our loan book and this has been achieved last year,” she said. With the growth in customer deposits amounting to Rwf974.5 billion, the group’s total assets grew by 22 per cent from the previous year, now valued at Rwf1.5 trillion. On the operating basis, BK Group’s operating expenses increased by 39.2 per cent to Rwf63.2 billion from Rwf45.4 billion. The cost to income ratio increased to 36.3 per cent from 32.5 per cent. The cost-to-income ratio is important for determining the profitability of a bank. A reduction in the cost to income ratio is a positive development as it indicates that it takes less cost to generate income. The non-performing loans ratio reduced to 5.3 per cent from 6.7 per cent in 2020. Nathalie Mpaka, Chief Finance Officer of BK, said that non-performing ratio is still elevated when compared to the market and the target is to bring it to below five per cent. BK Insurance In the period under review, the insurance sector registered a profit of Rwf2.7 billion, representing a 57 per cent growth in profitability when compared to Rwf1.7 billion in 2020. The growth was mainly driven by the gross premium which increased from Rwf9.2 billion in the previous year to Rwf12.1 billion in 2021. BK Tech BK TecHouse registered a sales revenue of Rwf1.2 billion in 2021, representing a growth rate of 22.7 per cent when compared to Rwf954.1 million in the previous year. The group’s tech subsidiary has over 2.5 million digital consumers across its three digital platforms - Smart Nkunganire System, Smart Kungahara System and URUBUTO Education System which has seen an uptake in the payment of school fees where 654 secondary schools and seven universities have subscribed to the platform. BK Capital BK Capital recorded a profit before tax of Rwf152 million, a growth of 32 per cent largely driven by a 29 per cent growth in operating income. Launched in 2020, the Aguka Unit Trust Fund which increased to Rwf9.1 billion was the main driver of the 94.3 per cent growth of assets under management to Rwf21.4 billion. “We are proud of the investment we have been putting towards our digital transformation journey and are happy to report that our new core banking system is fully operational and the usage of our digital platforms significantly increased,” said Marc Holtzman, Group Chairman. Commenting on the overall performance, Karusisi said BK Group Plc. recorded another strong performance in 2021, reflecting economic recovery with improved asset quality and profitability.
