Wegagen Bank Registers 193.1mln Birr Profit

ADDIS ABABA – Wegagen Bank said it has earned an annual gross profit of 193.1 million Birr during the 2020/21 financial year despite various challenges.

The figure has significantly decreased as compared to the previous year’s a little over a billion birr before tax profit.

The Bank said the performance is encouraging considering the smear campaign waged against the bank as well as the closure of many branches and damage of properties in the conflict areas.

This, in turn, impacted the bank’s efforts in resource mobilization and loans collections in the 2020/21 budget year, said the bank which held its annual shareholders meeting late last week.

“In the 2021 FY, the bank earned a total income of Birr 5 billion, showing 13% increase,” said Abdishu Hussain, Chairman of Board of Directors. “Whereas, the bank’s expenses was Birr 3.3 billion, raising by 44% year-on-year.”

“As a result, the profit before tax stood at Birr 193.1 million,” he wrote in the annual performance report.

According to the report, the bank’s paid-up capital grew from 2.9 Billion Birr to 3.3 billion Birr at the end of the fiscal year.

The Bank’s total assets reached 39.7 billion Birr at the end of last year – 1.5 Billion Birr higher than the previous year.

Last year, the Bank opened 15 new branches, pushing its branch network to 398. Wegagen’s total number of employees, excluding outsourced staff, rose to 4,957 as of June 30, 2021.