"More business, better results", summarized João Pires to Lusa on the sidelines of the second edition of the Angola Banking Conference, which took place this Wednesday in Luanda.
"Looking at the accounts expressed in kwanzas, we have results above (than expected) because we had some exchange rate gains with our exposure due to the devaluation, which was not foreseen, but we always have a controlled exchange rate exposure", he commented.
The devaluation "had a positive impact on the accounts in kwanzas, although we would have preferred that there had been no devaluation, obviously, which is why we were above expectations", explained the person in charge.
João Pires also highlighted that the business grew more than initial forecasts: "We had a good year in business growth and earnings growth", he said, predicting the continuation of this trend in 2024.
"It won't be any different, essentially, we're not counting on devaluation, of course," he said.
According to Caixa Angola's report and accounts for 2023, the net profit amounted to 36.6 billion kwanzas (40.3 million euros), a growth of 6.27 percent compared to the same period last year, which essentially resulted of the 26.8 percent growth in banking income "boosted by the improvement in the financial margin and the impact of the strong exchange rate depreciation on the revaluation of assets in foreign currency".
This effect, combined with a 21.6 percent increase in costs, allowed gross margin to grow by almost 30 percent, continuing to improve the profitability of banking operations, the document states.
Deposits in national currency increased by more than 42 percent, while foreign exchange deposits fell by more than 22 percent when expressed in euros, having increased by 31.6 percent when expressed in kwanzas.
Caixa Angola grew in market share "continuing to consolidate its position as the 6th or 7th largest bank in the Angolan banking ranking" and more than doubled its credit portfolio, with growth of more than 186 billion kwanzas (205 million euros).
The second edition of the Angola Banking Conference was organized by the magazine Economia & Mercado and the consultancy PwC, and discussed the theme 'Challenges, Trends and Opportunities in Banking'.
