MANAMA: Bank ABC Islamic has reported net profit of $19.2 million for the first half ended June 30, 2021, compared to $14.5m for the same period last year, reflecting the bank’s success in returning to normal performance after absorbing the one-off exceptional fraud related impairment in 2020.
Total operating income of $21.5m is 8.1 per cent lower than the same period last year mainly on account of low profit rate environment and slightly lower fee income.
Total operating expenses of $3.3m were 7.5pc lower than $3.6m for the same period of last year as a result of cost-rationalisation programmes and staff/client activity not having reverted to pre-pandemic level.
Allowances for credit losses for the period were a write-back of $1.3m compared to a charge of $5.1m reported during the same period last year.
Bank ABC Islamic’s total assets stood at $1.998bn as of end-June 2021 compared to $2.314bn as of end-2020.
Shareholders’ equity as of end-June 2021 stood at $286m, compared to $293m as of end-2020.
The bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 36.2pc, predominantly tier 1, which totalled 35.2pc.
For the second quarter, the bank’s net profit was $8.8m compared $8.7m reported in the second quarter of last year.
Total operating income was $9.7m compared to $9.9m for the same period of last year.
Allowances for credit losses for the period were a write back of $0.6m compared to $0.4m reported during the same period last year.
Operating expenses were $1.5m, compared to $1.4m for the same period of last year.
Commenting, Hammad Hassan, managing director of Bank ABC Islamic, said: “The bank’s performance in the first half of the year is reassuring.
The bank has been able to recover to its normal performance after it has absorbed the impact of fraud related credit costs of 2020.
Whilst the top-line continues to be adversely impacted by a combination of lower profit rate environment and a slowdown in the business activity not having resumed to pre-pandemic level, the bank’s net profitability showed growth on a year-on-year basis, as a result of stability in the credit portfolio and positive macroeconomic outlook as compared to last year.”
“The operating environment is still not back to normal but there is positive hope for recovery as vaccination programmes across countries and regions are gaining traction. We remain cautiously optimistic about some pick up in market activity after the summer and as we go in to the next year,” he added.
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