K-Rep Bank has reported a 24 per cent jump in net profit to Sh184 million for the year ended September 30, 2012 egged on by interest income, its unaudited financial statements published yesterday showed.

The micro-lender, which has 36 branches countrywide, had posted a Sh148 million net profit in the previous financial year. Interest earned from loans and advances to customers increased by 55 per cent to Sh1.31 billion from Sh844 million a year before, despite its loan book thinning a little to Sh6.77 billion from Sh7 billion as at the end of March.

This pushed the total interest income to Sh1.37 billion from Sh877 million in the year ended September 30, 2011. A harsh interest rate regime however thawed two-way as interest paid out on customer deposits by the lender jumped to Sh314 million from Sh78 million in 2011.

Customer deposits rose to Sh6.82 billion in the period under review, from Sh5.98 billion a year before. The bank's borrowed funds reduced to Sh754 million compared to Sh1 billion in the previous financial year.