Transcription of The Stock Network Interview with Kina Securities (ASX:KSL), CEO Ivan Vidovich
Lel Smits: Kina Securities, one of the leading financial services groups in Papua New Guinea, has delivered a strong full year result highlighted by double-digit earnings growth, diversified revenue expansion and disciplined investment in organizational capabilities. Kina also strengthened its balance sheet and lifted shareholder returns with a 22% increase in dividends, reflecting both earnings momentum and capital discipline. Ahead of presenting at Tip Group’s Emerging Wealth Winners Conference, I’m joined by Kina Securities CEO Ivan Vidovich to discuss Kina’s role in P&G’s evolving banking sector, the drivers behind its 2025 performance and how the group is positioning for continued growth in the year ahead.
Ivan, welcome to the Stock Network.
Ivan Vidovich: Thank you, good to be here.
Lel Smits: Now, Papua New Guinea is widely recognised for its natural resources from things like gold and LNG, but actually also things like unique biodiversity.
Less often though, we hear about the development of the financial system. How does Kina Bank fit within Papua New Guinea’s banking sector?
Ivan Vidovich: Papua New Guinea is one of the Pacific’s strongest growing economies with medium-term GDP growth forecast at around 3.4%. That’s supported by strong commodity prices, the ramp up of the Pogara and Optedi projects and other major resource projects such as Papua LNG expected to commence in the next one to two years. P&G is also a country with a young and fast-growing population and a banking system that is well regulated and that continues to deepen and to modernise.
So in summary, we observe that P&G’s growth prospects are similar to an Asian emerging market, less so a traditional Pacific market. So within that environment, Kina is the country’s second largest commercial bank and the leading diversified financial services group. We were also the first financial services company to dual list on the ASX and P&GX.
Since acquiring ANZ’s retail, SME and commercial portfolio in 2019, we’ve built a broad base across lending, digital payments, wealth and also foreign exchange. And we’re now firmly embedded as P&G’s challenger bank with a significant market share gap between Kina and the largest bank in the market. Our focus remains on customer centricity, competition and creating easier access to banking for households and for business.
We’re also very proud to play a broader nation building role from expanding digital access through many market firsts to supporting SMEs and the commercial sector to helping strengthen the financial services system. As P&G’s economy grows, Kina is well positioned to support that growth.
Lel Smits: Fantastic. And Ivan, your 2025 result delivered statutory net profit after tax growth of 20%. This was alongside strong loan book expansion, also dividend growth. What were the key drivers behind this performance?
Ivan Vidovich: Our 2025 result was a strong performance across our diversified portfolio.
As you mentioned, statutory impact was up 20% to 121 million Kina and underlying impact grew 15% to 126 million Kina. This performance along with our balance sheet capacity enabled us to lift dividends by 22% in local currency and 10% in AUD. This was driven by broad based revenue growth of 13% with all major revenue lines delivering double digit increases.
Lending was the standout in 2025. The loan book grew 13% with very strong commercial lending up 17%. Net interest income increased 20% supported by loan growth and also strong returns on government security.
Non-interest income was also very strong, which now contributes 51% of total revenues with foreign exchange up 17% and digital channels up 13%. Reflecting strong market demand and the competitiveness of our offers. Our digital growth in payments has been one of the hallmarks of our non-interest income growth over the last five years and remains a key opportunity as the banking market matures.
At the same time, we kept cost growth to 4% improving our cost to income ratio year on year. That focus and discipline allowed us to continue investing in strategic capabilities, leadership, credit, risk, technology, and AML uplift, while still delivering improved operating leverage. The result is a bank that’s growing and continuing to become more efficient over the medium to longer term and strengthening its balance sheet with capital adequacy ratio now above 17%.
We can achieve this growth while also rewarding shareholders.
Lel Smits: Absolutely, and looking ahead, Ivan, you’ve indicated another year of earnings growth. How is the year ahead shaping up for both Papua New Guinea and Kina Bank and also what are the key strategic priorities to sustain this growth?
Ivan Vidovich: Yeah, Kina Bank’s positioned for another year of solid growth in 2026.
The domestic economy remains resilient, stronger resource activity, improved foreign exchange convertibility, and resilient consumer demand. And our diversified portfolio gives us multiple engines of growth. Strategically, we’ve transitioned from our 2025 strategy cycle into our 2030 strategy, centred on our refreshed purpose of creating brighter futures.
For the next two years, our priorities are very clear. This includes targeted organic growth in the customer segments where we have a real competitive advantage, ongoing operational efficiency, building on the progress we’ve made in 2025, selective capability investments for longer term growth and resilience, capital optimisation, including our plan to issue P&G’s first P&G X-listed corporate bond, strengthening our tier two capital base, and customer experience and digitisation to ensure banking is simple, fast, and more accessible. There will be some headwinds, specifically lower yields on government securities, a more competitive FX market, and currency volatility, particularly against the AUD.
But these are offset by the scheduled reduction in the bank tax rate from 40% to 35% in 2026 and our strong balance sheet. So we enter 2026 in a strong position, well capitalised with a diverse range of products and services, which are aligned well to the long term growth drivers in the P&G economy.
Lel Smits: Well, Ivan, I really appreciate the update from Keenest Securities and I look forward to hearing more when you’re on stage at Tip Group’s Emerging Wealth Winners Conference in Sydney in April.
Ivan Vidovich: Thank you.
Ends