Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation) has announced that its net profit for 2022 - attributable to the shareholders of the parent - surged to hit $154 million, up  54% over the previous year, when the group achieved a net profit of $100 million, thus delivering a robust overall performance last year.

 

Announcing its results for the year ended December 31, 2022, Bank ABC said the group’s total operating income crossed the $1 billion mark during 2022 for the first time in the bank’s history, with solid core business growth across the franchise, aided by higher interest rates prevalent during the year. 

 

It represented a significant 29% headline increase supported by growth across all the core markets and beneficial interest rates environment in addition to consolidation of full year results of BBE (2021 included five months of BBE revenues). 

 

According to Bank ABC, the operating expenses were higher by 21% mainly due to full year costs of BBE during 2022 (2021 included five months of BBE costs) and costs returning to pre-pandemic levels in core markets. 

 

The group also continued its investments into its strategic digital initiatives to build its ‘bank of the future’. 

 

Balance sheet remains strong with capital and liquidity ratios well above the regulatory requirements: the group’s T1 ratio is at 15.7%, comprising predominantly CET1. LCR 225% and NSFR 124%.

 

A key milestone last year has been the achievement in Egypt of “Legal Day 1” on January 1, 2023, as Blom Bank Egypt (BBE) merged with our existing franchise to create a much stronger combined Bank ABC Egypt, which will boost growth of our market share going forward. 

 

In addition, its Digital transformation programme continued to progress well with all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in our mobile-only bank ila, and our fintech payments provider AFS, exceeding our aspirational targets.

 

On the Q4 2022 results, Bbank ABC said the consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent, for the three months ended December 31, 2022, stood at $40 million, $20 million higher, a growth of 100%, compared to $20 million reported for the same period last year.

 

Earnings per share for the period was US$0.01, comparable to US$0.01 in the same period in the previous year.

 

The total comprehensive income attributable to the shareholders of the parent was $11 million, 15% lower, compared to $13 million reported for the same period last year. 

 

On the results, Bank ABC's Group Chairman Saddek Omar El Kaber said: "In 2022 the group has delivered remarkable results, with record-breaking revenues of over US$1 billion, building momentum from the previous year with accelerated performance, which has contributed to a 54% increase in our net profit to shareholders."

 

"On the back of this solid performance, we are setting bold aspirations for 2023, cautious of the expected economic headwinds such as tighter financial conditions, ongoing war in Europe and persistent inflationary conditions. We are confident of capitalising our strengths and leveraging our investments to continue to accelerate profitable growth during 2023," stated El Kaber.

 

These achievements were well recognised by prestigious awards platforms; a testament to Bank ABC’s vision and digital transformation strategy, which is geared towards building a stronger platform to substantially increase our business and become even more relevant and responsive to the needs of our clients, he added.-TradeArabia News Service