BUSINESS REPORTER
Zimbabwe’s largest financial services group, Old Mutual Zimbabwe (OMZ) has mobilised US$110m from regional and international financiers for lending to key sectors of the economy, Business Times can report.
The development was revealed by OMZ Group CEO, Samuel Matsekete, who spoke at the company’s analyst briefings in the capital Harare last week.
He however did not disclose the identity of the financiers.
Matsekete said the agriculture , energy and mining sectors lending contributed 34%, 16% and 10% respectively to the total loan book in the 12 months to December 31, 2023.
“We mobilised regional and international credit lines of US$110m for lending to key sectors of the economy, “ Matsekete said.
He said the loan book grew by 166% in the period under review.
In its financial results for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, OMZ more than doubled its revenue to ZWL$1,32bn from ZWL$664.40m reported in the previous year.
The insurance business contributed a revenue amounting to ZWL$234bn while the banking unit contributed ZWL$1.442bn.
OMZ is back in the black after posting a ZWL$517bn profit in the 12 months to December 31, 2023, from a loss of ZWL$151bn reported in the previous year, largely attributable to above inflation returns on invested assets.
Revenue for the group grew to ZWL$1.33 trillion in the period under review from ZWL$664.40bn reported in 2022.
Interest income grew 218% to ZWL$146 billion, driven by growth in loans and advances, despite tightening lending margins as the profile of the loan book became skewed to United States dollar loans.
Fee and commission income for the group increased to ZWL$209 billion, an increase of 833% driven by higher nominal values of transactions in response to inflation.
Total assets increased by 98% from ZWL$4.8 trillion in the prior year to ZWL$9.6 trillion as at 31 December 2023.”
Investment returns were ZWL$5,1 trillion, up from ZWL$423 billion achieved in the prior year.
“This was largely due to the performance of ZSE [Zimbabwe Stock Exchange]-listed equities, translation gains of investments denominated in foreign currencies and gains on investment property,” Group CEO, Samuel Matsekete said.
He added: “We will continue to invest in technology and process improvement efforts, while focusing on growing our customer base for both retail and corporate segments, supported by our integrated omni-channel configuration,” Matsekete projected the outlook for 2024.
To support growth of lending and transactional banking offering, the group will continue to engage regional and international lenders and correspondent banks to maintain and access new facilities.
Going into the future, Matsikete revealed that OMZ will focus on scaling new businesses including the funeral services, micro-insurance and microfinance lending growth through strategic partnerships.
Furthermore, OMZ will drive customer acquisitions and growth in transaction volumes in fintech.
