Staff Writer
ZB Financial Holdings (ZBHF) says insurance service result for the year to December 31, 2023 fell by 486 percent from a deficit of $26,127 billion in 2022 to a deficit of $153,235 billion in 2023.
This was largely as a result of an increase of 327 percent in insurance service expenses to $377,642 billion from $88,407 billion in 2022.
The group in its financials said its insurance units were profitable during the year under review and their assets grew.
ZB Reinsurance posted a profit after tax of $51,089 billion in 2023, up from $11,462 billion in 2022, and total assets increased in real terms to $182,335 billion from $60,205 billion in 2022.
ZB Life Assurance posted a profit of $98,174 billion in 2023, up from a profit of $5,060 billion in 2022, while total assets increased in real terms to $279,765 billion from $135,421 billion in 2022.
However, overall, the group said income continues to be mainly underpinned by fair value adjustments, other operating income, as well as commissions and fees.
Total income for the year to December 31, 2023, rose 394 percent to $1,247 trillion, compared to $252,445 billion in 2022.
“Income performance continued to be mainly underpinned by fair value adjustments, which rose by 530 percent from $74,443 billion in 2022 to $468,635 billion in 2023,” said Shepherd Fungura, the group’s chief executive.
He said performance for the year was also supported by a 344 percent improvement in other operating income, from $107,200 billion in 2022 to $452,680 billion, as well as a 287 percent increase in commissions and fees, to $296,036 billion from $76,451 billion in 2022.
The group’s financials also show that net interest income rose by 95 percent to $187,904 billion in 2023 from 96.144 billion in 2022, while loan impairment charges rose by 73 percent from a negative $32,762 billion in 2022 to a negative $56,627 billion in 2023.
“Resultantly, net income from lending activities rose by 107 percent from $63,382 billion in 2022 to $131,277 billion in 2023,” said Fungura.
Fungura said the group’s operating costs grew by 275 percent to $760,111 billion from $202,673 billion in 2022, largely reflecting the macro-level general price increases.
As a result, profit after tax (PAT) for the year improved by 312 percent to $665,383 billion from $161,465 billion achieved in 2022.
According to Fungura, the group’s total assets increased by 124 percent in real terms from $1,501 trillion as of December 31, 2022, to $3,355 trillion for the year under review, and the growth rate outperformed average inflation over the same period.
He said deposits and other related funding account balances grew by 113 percent to $1,120 trillion from $524,796 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Fungura said the group maintained a comfortable liquidity margin of safety, with the average ratio of liquid assets to customer deposits being above 60 percent throughout the year against a prescribed ratio of 30 percent.
ZB Bank Limited posted a profit after tax of $366,751 billion in 2023, up from $68,464 billion in 2022.
The bank’s total assets stood at $2,168 trillion as of December 31, 2023, up from $911,032 billion in 2022.
The group’s building society, ZB Building Society, posted a profit after tax of $60,907 billion in 2023, up from a profit of $21,492 billion in 2022.
