Equity Group CEO James Mwangi
Equity Group Holdings PLC has announced a historic profit after tax of KSh75.5 billion in the 2025 financial year, up from KSh48.8 billion.
Equity attributed the results to the success of the Group’s strategic transformation, regional expansion, and diversified revenue streams.
The Group’s balance sheet expanded by 9% to KSh1.97 trillion, with customer deposits rising 4% to KSh1.46 trillion and net loans increasing 8% to KSh882.5 billion.
The strong revenue performance saw net interest income grow 17% to KSh 126.9billion, non‑funded income rise 7% to KSh 90.8 billion, and total income increase by 12% to KSh 217.7 billion.
Operational efficiency improved significantly, with the cost‑to‑income ratio falling to 51.0% from 58.2%, driven by continued migration to self‑service channels, productivity gains, and tighter cost discipline supported by Group-wide shared services and digital infrastructure.
Over 98% of customer transactions were conducted outside branches, with 88.4% processed through digital channels, reflecting continued demand for digital services with increased investment in customer‑centric digital infrastructure.
Loan loss provisions declined 28%, while NPL coverage strengthened to 67.7%, supported by a reduced cost of risk of 1.7%.
Commenting on the results, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi said the performance demonstrates the strength of the Group’s strategic transformation, driven by diversified revenue streams, improved efficiency, and growing contributions from regional subsidiaries.
“The 2025 performance reflects the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional financial services group. We delivered strong profit growth by expanding and deepening our income streams, improving efficiency across the franchise, and strengthening the quality of our balance sheet.
“Importantly, our regional subsidiaries now contribute about half of our banking profitability, demonstrating the value of our pan-African footprint and the resilience that comes from diversification,” said Mwangi.
On the back of this performance, the Directors have recommended a dividend of Kshs 5.75 per share, up from Kshs 4.25, amounting to a payout of Kshs 21.7 billion, representing a 35.3% growth in dividends.
Equity Bank Kenya Limited (EBKL) reported a 63% rise in profit after tax to KSh39.2 billion, driven by a 28% increase in net interest income and a 37% reduction in interest expense.
Shareholders’ funds grew 11% to KSh136.2 billion, while returns on assets and equity strengthened to 3.9% from 2.4% and 26.8% from 20.2%, respectively.
Regional operations accounted for about half of Group profitability in FY2025, underscoring Equity’s emergence as a pan-African financial services group.
In the DRC, profit after tax rose 58% to KSh24.7 billion, supported by 17% loan growth. Uganda’s profit after tax jumped 500% to KSh3.6 billion, while Rwanda posted a profit after tax of KSh5.4 billion, with total assets up 5% and the loan book expanding 22%.
Tanzania’s profit after tax grew 125% to KSh2.7 billion, alongside a 75% increase in shareholders’ funds. Overall, subsidiaries contributed 51% of banking profit before tax and 48% of banking profit after tax.
Equity Insurance Group continued its strong expansion, driven by newly acquired life, general, and health underwriting licenses.
Gross written premiums rose by 75% to Kshs 9.17 billion, delivering Profit Before Tax growth of 36% to Kshs 2.0 billion, and a 150% rise in insurance revenue to Kshs 3.57 billion.
All subsidiaries of the Equity Group also delivered solid growth. Equity Life Assurance posted a Profit Before Tax of KSh 1.77 billion and now serves 6.9 million customers, having issued 19.2 million policies since inception.
Equity General Insurance reported KSh 1.79 billion in Gross Written Premiums and KSh 199 million in Profit Before Tax in its first year of operations, while Equity Health Insurance recorded KSh 20 million in Gross Written Premiums and KSh 40 million in Profit Before Tax within its first four months of operations.
