Equity Group (EQTY) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Profit after tax rose 13% year-over-year to KES 40.9Bn, with EPS up 13% to KES 10.4 and total assets at KES 1.70Tn.

• Customer deposits increased 9% to KES 1.32Tn, and the customer base expanded to 21.3 million.

• Subsidiaries contributed 48% of assets and 51–53% of profit before tax, highlighting regional diversification.

• Shareholders' funds grew 17% to KES 227.0Bn, and liquidity ratio strengthened to 55%.

• Net loans declined 5% to KES 800.1Bn, while profit before tax increased 11% to KES 51.0Bn.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income increased 11% to KES 80.6Bn, and non-funded income rose 4% to KES 58.3Bn.

• Interest income grew 13% to KES 125.9Bn, and total income rose 8% to KES 138.9Bn.

• Loan loss provision dropped 43% to KES 9.9Bn, reflecting improved asset quality.

• Shareholders' funds grew 17% to KES 227.0Bn.

• Cash and cash equivalents increased 12% to KES 295.5Bn.

Outlook and guidance

• Deposit growth exceeded guidance at 9%, while net loan growth was -5%, below target.

• Net interest margin was within guidance at 7.1%, and non-funded income mix at 42%.

• Return on equity at 24.5% was just below the 25–30% target; cost-to-income ratio at 55.1% was above the 48–50% target.

• NPL ratio at 13.4% exceeded the 9–11% guidance, reflecting sector-wide asset quality pressures.

• Management aims to leverage strong liquidity and capital for new opportunities, including insurance expansion.