BBK net profit surges 12.9%

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BBK yesterday announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, including the third quarter of 2022.

For the third quarter 2022, the bank achieved a net profit attributable to the owners of BD14 million compared to BD12.4m in the same period of last year, an increase of 12.9 per cent.

The basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to nine fils compared to eight fils during the corresponding period of last year.

Total comprehensive income attributable to the owners of the bank amounted to BD12.3m during the third quarter of 2022, compared to BD7m during the same period of last year, representing an increase of 75.7pc.

The increase in total comprehensive income was mainly due to the positive movement in the valuation of investment securities, and also to higher net profit.

The growth in net profit is attributable to robust increase in income from core activities. The net interest income increased by 23.6pc to BD26.2m (BD21.2m in the corresponding period of last year) due to enhanced margin and dynamic balance sheet management.

Moreover, net fees and commission income increased by 29.4pc to BD4.4m (BD3.4m during the corresponding period of last year) mainly due to the release of regulatory caps on fees and charges that were in place during 2020 and 2021 to ease the impact of Covid-19 on local businesses.

On the other hand, total operating expenses increased by 13.1pc to BD16.4m (BD14.5m during the same period of last year) due to continuous investment in human capital, and implementation of new strategic and business initiatives.

In addition, the net provision requirements amounted to BD3.4m, compared to BD1.7m for the same period of last year representing a 100pc increase.

The increase in net provision requirements is due to the bank’s proactive and prudent risk management approach to enhance its financial resilience.

The bank’s share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures during the quarter has declined to BD0.4m (BD1m in the corresponding period of last year) representing a decline of 60pc.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 the bank achieved a net profit attributable to the owners of BD44.5m, compared to BD40.5m in the same period of the previous year, an increase of 9.9pc.

The basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to 27 fils for the period, compared to 25 fils during the corresponding period of last year.

Total comprehensive income attributable to the owners of the bank amounted to BD29.8m, compared to BD47.6m during the same period of last year, a decrease of 37.4pc.

The drop is related to unrealised negative valuation on investment securities due to general financial markets volatility.

The robust increase in net profit was supported by a 10.1pc increase in net interest income to BD68.8m (BD62.5m reported during the same period of last year), and 23.9pc increase in net fees and commission income to BD13.5m (BD10.9m reported last year).

Moreover, the bank’s share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures has seen a prominent growth, increasing to BD3.2m (BD0.3m in the corresponding period of last year) representing an increase of 966.7pc.

On the other hand, the vigorous efforts of the bank towards implementation of new strategic and business initiatives, investing in employees and in enhancing distribution channels and offerings, and increase in the value-added tax (VAT) rate have resulted in 8.3pc increase in total operating expenses to BD47.2m (BD43.6m during the same period of last year).

Moreover, in light of the current uncertainties surrounding the health of the global economy and the challenging economic environment, the net provisions increased by 138.1pc to BD5m (BD2.1m during last year) despite significant improvement in the bank’s asset quality indicators.

Total shareholders’ equity attributable to the owners of the bank stood at BD541.5m as of end of September 2022, largely in line with the previous year-end of BD542.8m (representing a decline of 0.2pc).

In addition, total assets increased year-to-date by 3.1pc to BD3,786.3m (31 December 2021: BD3,672.7m) mainly due to increase in cash and balances with central banks by 38.4pc to BD394.3m (31 December 2021: BD284.8m) and increase in loans and advances to customers by 4.4pc to BD1,678.7m (31 December 2021: BD1,607.2m).

The growth in balance sheet was mainly funded by growth in core customer deposits which increased by 3.4pc to BD2,198.9m (31 December 2021: BD2,125.6m).

The board of directors expressed their satisfaction with the financial results, stating that: “the solid performance and steady improvements in the bank’s operations are testimonies of our clear vision, robust business model, and effective and adaptive strategies that are being implemented with the highest standards of operational excellence.”

BBK Group chief executive Dr AbdulRahman Saif commented, “the steady improvement in our performance and the higher net profit are results of our sustained culture of superior performance and balanced growth. We continued to invest in various new business and strategic initiatives aimed at inclusive growth and benefiting all our stakeholders. Also, adopting a sustainable approach in all our operations, and supporting environment issues are top priorities.”