Kenya's CFC Stanbic third quarter pre-tax profit down 6p.c.

Kenya's CFC Stanbic Bank posted a 6 per cent drop in its pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year to Sh980.7 million compared with the same period last year.

Stanbic, majority held by South Africa's Standard Bank, said interest income rose 32 per cent to Sh4.62 billion while operating expenses rose by 72 per cent to Sh3.61 billion, unaudited results showed.

The results on Thursday follow a modest rise in its half-year pre-tax profit and slower growth reported in August, alongside most Kenyan banks, on the back of weaker economic growth.

Loans and advances to customers dipped to Sh43.1 billion from Sh43.31 billion, while loan-loss provisions increased by 38 per cent to Sh500.3 million.

Holdings in Kenya government securities were up 10 per cent to Sh12.56 billion, the bank said.

The bank said its total assets stood at Sh83.5 billion, from Sh82.1 billion in the first nine months of 2008.

Customer deposits rose 10 per cent to Sh60.44 billion compared with the year ago period.

The bank's earnings per share dropped by 11 per cent to Sh5.38 compared with a similar period a year ago.

Its shares closed Wednesday's trade at Sh46.00, compared with a year-high of Sh150.00 hit on August 8, 2008.