Ivorian bank BICI grows profit by 35% to $27m in 2023
TLDR
- BICI, under Ivorian State consortium ownership, recorded a profit growth of 34.73% in 2023, highest in BRVM banking sector.
- The bank's net banking income rose by 17.41% to 55.51 billion FCFA driven by a 26% increase in interest activity.
- Despite a 20% rise in operating expenses to 35.78 billion FCFA, BICI achieved a gross operating profit of 16.81 billion FCFA.
One year after the takeover of BNP Paribas' activities by the Ivorian State through a consortium, BICI posted a profit growth of 34.73% at the end of the 2023 financial year, marking the highest jump in the BRVM banking sector for that period.
Profits reached a record level of 16.69 billion FCFA ($27 million) compared to 12.39 billion FCFA at the end of 2022. Driven by a significant increase of 26% to 52.99 billion FCFA in interest activity, BICICI's net banking income improved by 17.41% year-on-year, reaching 55.51 billion FCFA.
This commercial momentum allowed the bank to offset the 20% increase in general operating expenses, which amounted to 35.78 billion FCFA, resulting in a gross operating profit of 16.81 billion FCFA (+14%).
Key Takeaways
This positive change in gross operating income, along with an increase of 58% in the cost of risk to 1.27 billion FCFA and a remarkable 1,422% increase in exceptional income to 2.57 billion FCFA, led to a profit of 16.69 billion FCFA, the largest in the history of the bank. Total assets remained steady at 920.56 billion FCFA, while equity increased by 12% to 83.57 billion FCFA. The bank's commitment to the economy was further reinforced, with a transformation rate of 63% compared to 59% in 2022, for loans and deposits valued at 489.19 billion FCFA and 778.28 billion FCFA, respectively. Regarding dividends, no communication has been made public yet.