Struggling HF Group Kenya has reported a Sh110.1 million loss for the full year ended 31 December 2019. This is an 82 pc improvement from Sh598 million net loss reported in 2018.
The housing finance company reduced it’s total operating expenses to Sh6.7 billion (17pc) from Sh8 billion in 2018. HF Group also greatly cut down its workforce by 9pc in 2018, an exercise that contributed heavily to lowered operating expenses in 2019.
The Sh598 million loss the lender had reported for the period ended December 2018 was the first time that the group saw negative profits in over a decade. This then forced the company to restrategize and shut down the group’s loss-making investment unit.
HF’s interest revenue, which is the groups primary source of revenue, declined by Sh929 million to Sh5.1 billion from Sh6 billion collected the previous year. However, non interest income grew by Sh84 million to Sh1.4 billion in the same period.
The lender also witnessed a Sh2.7 billion increase in customer deposits to Sh37.4 billion in 2019. loans and advances to customers decreased to Sh38.6 billion from Sh43.4 billion in 2018. The company increased its investments in government securities to Sh4.2 billion down from Sh2.7 billion.
Although the company has managed to reduce its losses by 82pc, the same was not replicated in its bad loans department where Non-Perfoming Loans (NPLs) stand at Sh12.3 billion down from Sh13.3 billion the previous year.
The group’s total operating income shrunk to Sh3.3 billion down from Sh3.5 billion the previous year.
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