Group Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C.) – traded on the Bahrain Bourse under the name “ABC” today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2023.
The group started the year on a strong basis, with a revenue growth of 21% compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by broad-based growth in core businesses and benefiting from higher interest rates. The overall budget remained sound with strong capital and liquidity ratios.
Bank ABC Group Chairman, Seddiq Omar Al-Kabeer, commented: “We are pleased with the strong start to the year, as we continued to build on the momentum of the core business from last year benefiting from the acceleration of performance, which contributed to increasing our net profit for shareholders in the first quarter by 94% compared to the same period of the previous year, despite the pressures faced by the banking sector globally and the economic challenges in a number of our markets. The diversity of the group’s business portfolio and the strong management of the overall budget place Bank ABC in a position to continue its strong growth and improve profitability during the remaining period of 2023.”
Below is a brief explanation of the financial results:
Financial results during the first quarter of 2023
– Consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company for the three months of the first quarter of 2023 amounted to $60 million, an increase of 94%, compared to $31 million reported for the same period last year.
– Earnings per share for the period was $0.02, a growth of 94% compared to $0.01 for the same period last year.
– Total comprehensive income attributable to the shareholders of the parent company amounted to a loss of $1 million, compared to total comprehensive income of $8 million recorded during the year 2022. This is mainly due to the depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar, which was offset to some extent by the strengthening of the Brazilian Real.
– Total operating income increased year-on-year by 21% reflecting growth in all core markets benefiting from the higher interest rate situation.
– Operating expenses increased compared to the same period in the previous year by 10% due to expenses supporting business growth, strategic transformation and higher inflation. Thus, the Group has a positive income due to an increase in the income growth ratio to the cost growth ratio by 11%, as a result of the improvement in the cost to income ratio. The Group remains focused on cost control while continuing to invest in digital transformation and strategic initiatives to build the “Fututre Bank”.
General budget
– Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company and holders of perpetual bonds at the end of the period amounted to US$ 4,043 million, compared to US$ 4,095 million recorded at the end of 2022, after absorbing the impact of dividends and foreign currency translation on equity in subsidiaries.
– Total assets were $34.6 billion at the end of the period compared to $36.6 billion at the end of 2022, down by 7%, primarily reflecting short-term ALM measures. Loans and advances amounted to $17.9 billion, slightly lower than the $18.2 billion recorded at the end of 2022, and deal volumes are expected to pick up over the remainder of 2023.
– Liquidity levels remained strong with liquidity coverage reaching 200% and net stable liquidity ratio at 125%, and the liquid assets to deposits ratio improved to 46%.
– Capital adequacy levels remained strong: Tier 1 major equity at 15.4%, Tier 1 ratio at 13.7%, and overall capital adequacy ratio at 16.4%.
Bank ABC is a leading bank in the region, with presence in 15 countries spread across five continents, offering clients an innovative range of financial products and services that include corporate wholesale banking, trade finance, project finance, structured finance, syndicated loan arrangement, treasury products and Islamic banking products. The Bank also provides retail banking services through its network of affiliated banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria, and through “Ila” Bank in Bahrain and Jordan.
Bank ABC Group notes to its shareholders that the financial statements and press releases are available on the Bahrain Bourse and Bank ABC websites. More details are provided in the results presentation posted on the Bank ABC website.
