Al Baraka Banking Group reports Q4, full year profits

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Baraka Banking Group BSC (ABG) yesterday reported a fourth-quarter profit helped by a combination of factors including expense control, reduction in provisions as well as tax savings compared to the same period last year, despite facing economic headwinds in 2021. For the fourth quarter of 2021, the Group reported a net income attributable to the equity holders of the ABG parent of US$ 23 million compared to a loss of US$ (380) thousand during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Earnings per Share were US Cents 0.62 compared to US Cents (1.3) during the corresponding period of last year. Net income increased by 29.1% to US$ 43 m in Q4/2021 compared to US$34 m in Q4, 2020 and total operating income was US$ 318 m in Q4/2021 (Q4/2020: US$ 301 m, +5.8%).

Full-year results

Net income attributable to the equity holders of the ABG parent was US$ 113 m compared to US$ 67 m in 2020, marking an increase of 69.3%.

Earnings per Share in 2021 were US Cents 6.71 compared to US Cents 2.90 in 2020. Total net income of US$ 190 m for the full year 2021 compared to US$ 166 m in 2020, reflecting an increase of 14.3%. Currency devaluation in some of the key markets the Group operates in impacted its results.

The total operating income of the Group stood at US$ 1.04 billion in 2021 compared to US$ 1.14 billion in 2020, a decrease of 8.6%.  In addition to currency devaluation, this stemmed from the higher cost of funding in some markets.

Generally, improving economic conditions in the countries the Group operates in led to a drop in provisions from US$ 290 m in 2020 to US$ 254 m. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Baraka Banking Group, Shaikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel said, “We continued to face economic headwinds in 2021 and dedicated our efforts to limit the impact on the Group. Placing our customers at the centre of everything we do, we overcame the challenges and adjusted our strategy to a more effective one that yields returns to our customers, shareholders and employees.”

Member of the Board of Directors and Group Chief Executive Officer of Al Baraka Banking Group, Mazin Manna, said, “Going forward, we will continue to strengthen our risk management and compliance culture and will work towards ensuring that our resources are focused on the markets and businesses that give us the best returns and growth potential whilst ensuring adequate control of overheads and expenditure”