Diamond Trust Bank Uganda Net Profit Hits UGX 26.1 Billion in 2025
Diamond Trust Bank Uganda reported a return to growth in its 2025 financial results, with net profit rising 9.9% to UGX 26.1 billion from UGX 23.7 billion a year earlier, marking a recovery after a year of balance sheet adjustments.
The improvement came despite a decline in total income, which fell 6.9% to UGX 309.2 billion from UGX 332.1 billion in 2024. Cost discipline played a central role, with expenses easing faster than revenues. Total expenditure declined 9.9% to UGX 282.2 billion, supporting a rebound in profit before tax and overall earnings.
Lower credit impairments and tighter operating costs drove efficiency gains. Loan loss provisions dropped by about UGX 8 billion to UGX 21.7 billion, while operating expenses reduced by roughly UGX 5.3 billion to UGX 140.2 billion.
Improved funding efficiency also allowed the bank to grow customer deposits without a matching rise in interest costs.
The latest performance follows a transition period in 2024, when the lender recalibrated its balance sheet under Godfrey Sebaana, who took over as Managing Director and CEO in April that year.
During that phase, total assets declined 4.8% to UGX 2.863 trillion, while deposits fell 5.1% to UGX 2.094 trillion. Lending growth slowed to 3.2%, and earnings dropped sharply.
The 2025 results indicate early outcomes from that reset. The bank shifted away from lower-yielding government securities and redeployed capital into private sector credit, improving returns.
This repositioning is evident in net loans and advances, which grew 15.8% to UGX 1.045 trillion, crossing the trillion-shilling mark for the first time. The expansion represents the strongest loan growth in five years and a sharp turnaround from the subdued performance in 2024.
Uganda’s macroeconomic environment has supported this shift. The economy expanded by about 6.5% in 2025, while private sector credit growth recovered to around 11% after a contraction in the previous year, creating room for lenders to expand their loan books.
Balance sheet growth remained measured. Total assets increased 1.8% to UGX 2.914 trillion, while DTB Uganda customer deposits rose 6.0% to UGX 2.219 trillion, adding over UGX 125 billion and reversing the previous year’s decline.
Godfrey Sebaana said that at a country level, the bank’s business growth strategy is aligned to Uganda’s ATMS strategy, adding that the bank is positioned to support the government in driving industrialisation, increasing exports, and shifting labour from subsistence to higher productivity sectors through its financial intermediation role.
Jefferson Wachira is a writer at Africa Digest News, specializing in banking and finance trends, and their impact on African economies.
