The national switch operator has reported 1.06 billion Br in gross profit, a growth of 97pc from last year with earnings per share climbing to 73.7pc. Executives of EthSwitch, an industry-wide payment operator, attributed the positive result to operational improvements, policy changes and a notable increase in total revenues. Total assets grew to 3.45 billion Br, whereas revenues rose by 86pc to 1.13 billion Br to garner a net profit of 789 million Br. Interoperable transactions were recorded with 94.53 million on ATMs and 2.18 million on Point-of-Sale (POS) machines. Several commercial banks and the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) established the company in 2010, with 80 million Br in capital and became operational in 2015. Chaired by Solomon Desta, a Central Bank representative, EthSwitch has welcomed new shareholders from banks and microfinance institutions. Sidama, Gadaa Bank, and Omo banks as well as Nisir Microfinance Institution have been added to the fold. According to the management led by CEO Yilebes Addis, EthSwitch has been working with several payment alliances, including Visa and Union Pay International (UPI), enabling it to connect to international payments. Yilebes revealed legal disputes with tax authorities, with a three-year backtracked VAT requirement totalling over 146 million Br resulting in court proceedings for the past one year. "We are a few steps away from resolving the issue," he told Fortune.

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