Development Bank well placed to play a central role in Africa

THE DEVELOPMENT Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) said yesterday that in the coming financial year it wanted to expand and diversify its product offering to provide non-traditional balance sheet financing with greater support throughout the infrastructure value chain.

Chief executive Patrick Dlamini said: “We believe the DBSA is well placed to continue its central role as the financial engine room of South African development and to play a major role in the development of the continent.”

He emphasised that even though the economic outlook remains uncertain, “we believe that our refined strategy will enable the DBSA to continue to deliver development impact across the full infrastructure development value chain.”

In the year to March, DBSA reported a net profit of R2.8 billion, from R2.6bn, while revenue was up 13 percent to R4.7bn, from R3.6bn, compared with last year.

The DBSA also delivered R48.2bn in total infrastructure development support, with development assets now standing at R78.8bn, slightly up from R77.1bn compared with last year.

Dlamini said the bank had produced a strong set of results and delivered infrastructure development impact despite a challenging operating environment.

“South Africa and the continent’s needs for infrastructure development remain critical. The DBSA further improved its strategy to ensure its catalytic role was optimised by drawing private sector and other third-party funding closer to the multitude of opportunities for developing Africa’s much-needed infrastructure,” he said.

The bank’s total assets grew 1 percent to R83.7bn, with the total development asset book increasing 2 percent to R78.8bn.

It said the debt/equity ratio of 158 percent remained well below the 250 percent statutory threshold, demonstrating the DBSA’s ability to continue to use its balance sheet to drive sustainable infrastructure investment.

Demonstrating the DBSA’s focus on strong governance, non-performing loans, after specific provisions, improved to 0.7 percent from 1.1 percent in the previous financial year and against a target of 3.3 percent.

The bank said through its involvement in developmental initiatives, it achieved milestones during the year with more than 266 000 people gaining access to improved health facilities and the completion of 12 schools.

The bank also said 500 small to medium enterprises benefited from construction contracts to the value of R493 million.