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KCB doubles final dividend as profit hits Sh66.8bn
KCB Group chief executive Paul Russo addresses investors during the release of the lender’s full-year 2025 financial results in Nairobi on March 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
KCB Group has doubled its final dividend to Sh3 per share after posting 11.2 percent rise in net profit for the year ended December, driven by growth in interest income.
The higher payout raises the bank’s total dividend per share to Sh7 for the period, after the lender paid an enhanced interim dividend of Sh4 per share in mid-2025 following proceeds from the sale of National Bank of Kenya (NBK).
The total dividend is 133 percent higher, compared to a year earlier and represents a payout ratio of 33 percent of its profits for the year. The lender’s profit after tax hit Sh66.8 billion from Sh60 billion in December 2024 on higher interest income.
Net interest income rose by 8 percent to Sh148.0 billion, from Sh137.3 billion a year earlier. KCB has credited the rise in profitability to gains made from divesting out of NBK and increased lending in the period, which was supported by lower interest rates.
“There is an element of the divestiture of NBK, but we have also leveraged our Group capabilities and digitisation to deliver best efficiencies.,” said KCB Group chief finance officer Lawrence Kimathi.
KCB’s loan book rose above the Sh1 trillion mark, hitting Sh1.15 trillion from Sh990.4 billion previously.
This helped lift the bank’s total assets past the Sh2 trillion mark, settling at Sh2.14 trillion from Sh1.96 trillion at the same time last year. The lender credited the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rate cuts for the loan growth as cheaper loans expanded credit demand.
However, loan impairments increased slightly to Sh32.4 billion compared with Sh30 billion a year earlier.
Its subsidiaries outside Kenya contributed 30.7 percent of the group profit, reflecting Kenya’s lenders’ quest to diversify profits and cut reliance on Kenya. The bank operates across multiple African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi.
Paul Russo, KCB Group chief executive, said the results reflect on the bank’s strong franchise across the region: “Our 2025 performance reflects the strength of the KCB franchise and the resilience of our regional footprint.”
“We delivered solid growth driven by disciplined execution, continued investment in digital innovation and our unwavering commitment to supporting sector-focused lending that catalyzes economic transformation across the region,” he added.
Non-funded income fell slightly by 2.62 percent to Sh65.7 billion, dragged down by foreign exchange depreciation in subsidiaries like DRC.
The Group’s non-interest related costs fell by a marginal 0.02 percent to Sh122.87 billion on lower provisions costs as gross non-performing loans fell to Sh211.8 billion from Sh225.6 billion previously.
