Profits at Afreximbank, the multilateral lender focused on financing intra-African trade and development, climbed 28.8% in 2024, quickened by a series of interest rate hikes in response to high inflation across Africa.
In its earnings report on Monday, the Cairo-headquartered lender acknowledged the impact of its subsidiaries, which it said are “beginning to make meaningful contributions to the Group’s financial results.”
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Afreximbank, which has tentacles in insurance, equity investment and payments, reported a 26.9 per cent jump in turnover to $3.3 billion.
Interest income, the lifeblood of the group’s topline, climbed to $3.1 billion, adding 23.2 per cent year on year.
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Net interest income, a key performance indicator measuring how much banks earn from loans to customers compared to what they pay to savers, was up by a quarter.
“The group delivered robust financial performance, exceeding expectations and outperforming prior years,” Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s senior executive vice president, said in a statement.
“The bank’s strong financial position is underpinned by solid liquidity, a well-capitalized balance sheet, and a high quality asset portfolio.”
Afreximbank, last Thursday, commissioned its first African trade centre in Nigeria’s administrative capital Abuja after 41 months in the works.
The grand two-towered facility is conceived to pivot trade flow, integration and investment, with similar hubs to be replicated across the continent.
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Afreximbank has revealed the ambition to scale intra-African trade to 60 per cent from current 15 per cent as a key strategy to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Expected credit loss for the group totalled $29.1 billion in the period under review, compared to $26.8 billion a year ago.
Total assets stood at $35.3 billion, up by 5.4 per cent.
