5 out of 7 banks perform well in first 9 months

FT ONLINE

Five private banks saw a rise in their profits while two registered a fall in the first nine months of the current year.

The seven banks – Al Arafah Islami Bank, IFIC Bank, Premier Bank, Eastern Bank, Bank Asia, Uttara Bank, Exim Bank – disclosed their financial statements of the January-September period on Wednesday.

Al Arafah Islami Bank

During the July-September period this year, Al Arafah Islami Bank suffered a loss of Tk29 crore because its default loans soared. And the loss per share was Tk0.27.  

Mohammad Nadem, the chief financial officer of the bank said that the bank witnessed the loss in the third quarter due to rising default loans. 

In the January-September period of this year, the bank's earning per share (EPS) was Tk0.24 because its profit declined by 68 percent to Tk26 crore compared to that in the same period last year. 

Last year during that time the net profit was Tk77 crore and the EPS was Tk0.72. 

The bank was compelled to keep Tk148 crore of provisioning against non-performing and bad loans that ultimately eroded its profit base, said Nadem. 

Besides, liquid money in the bank also increased. After the end of September, liquid money per share stood at Tk10.72 compared to Tk0.05 during the same time last year.

The bank's top official said the bank's liquid money increased as they brought back Tk679 crore deposited with other banks and financial institutions, and its lending was Tk373 crore less than the amount in the same period last year. 

IFIC Bank

In the January-September period this year, the net profit of IFIC Bank rose 169 percent to Tk214 crore compared to that in the same period last year. And the EPS was Tk1.45.

During the same period last year, the net profit was Tk80 crore and the EPS was Tk0.45.

Premier Bank

Premier Bank's net profit increased by 43 percent to Tk161 crore compared to that of last year, and the EPS was Tk1.47. During the time in the preceding year, the net profit was Tk113 crore and the EPS was Tk1.22.

Eastern Bank

The bank witnessed 15 percent rise in its profit in the first nine months. Its profit was Tk230 crore and the EPS was Tk2.83. 

In the previous year, the profit was Tk200 crore and the EPS was Tk2.46.

Bank Asia

In the first nine months of the current year, the bank's net profit stood at Tk226 crore which was 12 percent more than the amount during the same period last year. The EPS was Tk1.94. 

Last year, the net profit was Tk202 and the EPS was Tk1.73 during the same time.

Uttara Bank

The bank's profit declined by 5 percent to Tk107 crore compared to that in the same period last year.  The EPS was Tk2.61. In the same time last year, the profit was Tk113 and the EPS was Tk2.76.

Exim Bank

The bank's profit increased by 300 percent to Tk62 crore in the first nine months of this year, and the EPS was Tk0.44.  During the same period last year, the net profit and the EPS were Tk16 crore and Tk0.11 respectively.

But during the July-September period this year, the bank suffered a loss of Tk17 crore because of rising default loans. And the loss per share was Tk0.12.