In a statement by SBM Holdings during the release of their half year 2016 results, the Mauritius bank recorded a 20.7% increase in Group profit after tax for the second quarter to MUR 863 million ($24.49 million) compared to the first quarter of 2016 amounting to MUR 715 million ($ 20.29 million).
The Group’s profit before and after tax increased from MUR 822 million ($23.33 million) and MUR 567 million ($16.09 million) respectively for the six months period June 2015 as restated to MUR 1,978 million ($56 million) and MUR 1,578 million ($44.78 million) respectively for the six months period June 2016. Earnings per share stood at 6.11 cents as at 30 June 2016 compared to 2.20 cents at 30 June 2015.
What caught our attention is they gave a weak economic outlook in investment activity and cited that credit growth and interest rates remain low due to excess liquidity (Mauritius). To remedy the situation they are pursuing the following initiatives:
- Consolidation of the banking business
- Diversification of the business to grow the non-banking financial segment to a bigger share of the Group
- Internationalization to establish a presence in Seychelles and Kenya in the near term and grow a footprint in India in the medium term.
- Modernization of the Group’s channels of service delivery
- Capacity building across functions of the Group
