DTB Group has raised its dividend payout by 28.5 percent to Sh9 per share after posting double-digit earnings growth in the year ended December 2025.
The lender had paid a dividend of Sh7 per share for the prior year. Its net profit in the review period rose 23 percent to Sh9.4 billion, helped by a sharp fall in interest expenses.
DTB’s new dividend will be paid on June 26 to shareholders who will be on record as of May 22.
The higher payout is in line with the company’s declared policy of progressively returning more cash to shareholders. The lender’s profit increase was largely driven by a Sh5 billion drop in interest expenses to Sh26.1 billion.
This in turn lifted net interest income by Sh6.7 billion to Sh34.8 billion.
The savings on deposit costs more than compensated for a marginal increase in interest income from loans and a decline in cash returns from government debt securities.
Interest rates dropped significantly last year, helping banks to make deeper cuts in the rates they pay on deposits compared to the reduction in lending rates.
DTB would have made a larger profit were it not for its recent exit from Burundi at a loss, with the transaction captured in its financial statement.
The lender disclosed a net loss of Sh532.6 million from the discontinued operation in the review period.
The subsidiary in Burundi had contributed a net profit of Sh50.6 million to the parent firm in the prior year.
“In September 2025, management entered into an agreement to sell its Burundi subsidiary to a consortium of investors primarily based in Burundi. The transaction was finalised on December 31, 2025,” DTB said in a statement.
“The subsidiary was previously not classified as held for sale or as a discontinued operation since the sale of the Burundi operations had not been envisaged in 2024. The comparative consolidated statement of comprehensive income has been re-presented to show the discontinued operations separately from continuing operations.”
The firm sold its 83.67 percent stake in DTB Burundi to a consortium led by an existing minority shareholder in the subsidiary which was established in 2008.
Banks operating in Burundi face multiple challenges including exchange rate depreciation and heavy reliance on a small group of firms to take loans and provide deposits.
DTB saw its operating expenses rise 9.4 percent to Sh32.7 billion, partly due to loan loss provisions jumping 14.5 percent to Sh9.9 billion.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm also recorded a Sh1.1 billion declined in non-interest income to Sh11.8 billion.
This was largely due to a reduction in revenue from foreign currency trading, a trend seen across the banking sector.
