CHAMWE KAIRA
Standard Bank Namibia Holdings Limited has entered 2025 in a forceful position. The group’s 2025 strategic priorities continue to be transforming client experience and driving sustainable growth and value, the group said in financial results for the financial year ended 31 December 2024.
“We have refreshed our current strategy and crafted bold ambition for our 2025–2028 horizon with clear ‘must win’ battles for each business unit.”
The board recommended a final ordinary dividend of 70 cents per share (2023: 58 cents per ordinary share).
Profit for the year increased by 36.8%, up from N$770 million to N$1.053 billion. Pre-provision profit increased by 27.6% from N$1.279 billion in the prior year to N$1.631 billion in the current year.
Main contributors to this growth are the increase in net interest income of 14.8% and non-interest revenue of 15.3%. Due to this strong income growth, the group achieved a difference between income growth and cost growth (JAWS) of 810 basis points (bps).
The main driver for the increase in net fee and commission revenue was the growth in transactional volumes.
Trading volumes, expanded client propositions, foreign exchange and commodity volatilities underpinned the growth in trading revenue.
“Looking ahead, we remain committed to supporting economic growth and delivering sustainable value to our stakeholders. With a solid foundation and a clear strategic vision, the group is well positioned to navigate future opportunities and challenges in a dynamic economic landscape, as we strive to live our purpose,” the group said.
Chief executive Erwin Tjipuka said recent offshore discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin hold substantial economic potential for the country, particularly from 2030 onwards.
“Our commitment remains to fully leverage this opportunity and position ourselves as Namibia’s leading oil and gas bank. Our strategic focus concentrates on utilising our expertise and resources to address the specific needs of this sector, along with maintaining close engagement with key stakeholders, including senior officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia and international oil companies.”
Tjipuka said in 2024, the group stemmed four years of negative growth in loans and advances, with a return to a positive trajectory with a loans and advances growth of 4%, which was tracking close to the PSCE annual growth rate of 4.2%.
“We managed to reduce the rate of cost growth to 6.9% (2023: 17.7%) in the current year against average inflation of 4.3% for 2024 due to focused cost containment and management initiatives. This was further demonstrated in the reduction of our cost-to-income (CTI) ratio from 60.7% in 2023 to 56.4% in 2024.”
