PostBank on Tuesday announced its financial results with a 19% increase in net profit for the year 2022.
The state-owned bank reported a net profit of Shs 15.1 billion, a solid year-over-year growth of 19.3% up from the Shs 12.2 billion net profit posted in 2021.
Post Bank's total assets grew significantly by 21.3% from Shs 745 billion in 2021 to Shs 946. 6 billion in 2022, which is almost 1 trillion.
The bank's total income also increased from Shs 144.5 billion in 2021 to Shs 159.2 billion in 2022, which can be attributed to the bank's digital transformation journey that began in 2020.
Addressing the media after the annual general meeting on Tuesday, the shareholder, represented by Evelyn Anite, the state minister for Investment and Privatization, commended the board and management of PostBank for the stellar performance over the last three years.
She challenged them to sustain this level of performance so as to serve more Ugandans, calling upon Ugandans.
"I am very excited to announce that this is a very good job done by the board and management of Post Bank who are managing our assets on our behalf. At least, we are not talking about the collapsing company. We are not talking about liquidating," she said.
The managing director of PostBank Uganda, Julius Kakeeto, commented on the bank's financial performance and thanked the shareholder for supporting the bank.
"Our shareholder has resolved to capitalise retained earnings of Shs 19 billion as at 31st December 2022,"he said.
Digital channels including PostMobile, PostApp, PostOnline, PostAgents and smart ATMs, experienced tremendous growth, with digital transactions representing 60% of all bank transactions for the year, compared to about 10% 3 years ago.
Despite the challenging economic conditions, the bank's shareholders' equity increased to Shs 135.6 billion in 2022 from Shs 117 billion in 2021.
The board chairman of PostBank, Andrew Otengo Owiny expressed his satisfaction with the bank's performance, noting that the bank focused on improving efficiency of its operations and improving customer service.
"We opened five new branches, rolled out smart ATMs, enhanced the PostApp and started on a journey to serve the Parish Development Model (PDM) with a solution that ensures funds reach the final beneficiary. It is still awaiting regulatory approval," he said.
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He said considering where the bank was 3 years ago, the institution has made tremendous strides in the right direction.
"We are looking forward to a future where we take leadership in supporting Agribusiness and Micro Small & Medium Enterprises support which are core to the economy of this country,"he noted.
Officials said PostBank's capital position remains strong, with paid up capital of Shs 129 billion following shareholder's resolutions from the annual general meeting.
They said this is above the interim limit of Shs 120 billion set by Bank of Uganda (BoU). PostBank is confident it will achieve the minimum Shs 150 billion required by June 2024.
Anite said the bank's end-of-year accounts and accompanying financial statements were audited by the Auditor General and found consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the Uganda Companies' Act plus the amended Financial Institutions Act 2004.
In terms of its capital and financial performance, officials said the bank is in a strong position to expand and serve its customers with better competitive products and innovations in the future.
