AUB Q4 profit rises 30.2% to US$ 203.9 m

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Ahli United Bank (AUB) reported a record 30.2% jump in its fourth-quarter net profit, driven primarily by higher operating income and lower provision charges.

The Board of Directors recommended a distribution comprising a cash dividend of US cents 2.5 per share, subject to AUB Annual General Assembly approval. The fourth-quarter net profit attributable to its equity shareholders rose to US$ 203.9 million from net profit of US$ 156.6 m in the same quarter a year ago.

This is also the highest quarterly profit achieved by the bank since its establishment in 2000, thanks to AUB’s conservative forward-looking provisioning measures undertaken in the preceding quarter.

Earnings per Share increased to US 1.6 cents in Q4/2022 versus US 1.2 cents in Q4/2021. Comprehensive income attributable to the owners of the bank was US$ 113.5 m (Q4/2021: US$ 147.5 m, -23.0%).

The core operating performance was strong with net interest income increasing to US$ 242.5 m in Q4/2022 (Q4/2021: US$ 227.6 m, +6.6%) and total operating income surging to US$ 341.4 m in Q4/2022 (Q4/2021: US$ 282.7 m, +20.7%).

AUB’s financial results from Q4/2022 are consolidated into Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P (KFH).

Full-year results

Full-year 2022 net profit attributable to its equity shareholders was US$ 546.1 m, a 10.1% decrease over the 2021 profit of US$ 607.2 m.

This is entirely attributable to the higher exceptional precautionary non-recurring provision charge of US$160.2 m incurred during Q3/2022. Earnings per Share was US 4.5 cents, compared to US 5.1 cents in 2021.

Total comprehensive income attributable to the owners of the bank was US$ 261.2 m (2021: US$ 641.3 m, -59.3%). Net interest income was US$ 909.1 m (2021: US$ 871.8 m, +4.3%) primarily achieved through an increase in interest-earning assets. Total operating income was US$ 1,236.9 m (2021: US$ 1,108.9 m, +11.5%).

The AUB Deputy Chairman, Mohammad Fouad Al-Ghanim commented “Excluding the non-recurring additional precautionary provision charge of US$ 160.2 m taken in Q3/2022 from non-distributable pre-acquisition profits for KFH shareholders, the AUB Group achieved record financial results in 2022 with consolidated NPAT reaching to US$ 706.3 m, a 16.3% increase over the previous year NPAT and the second highest NPAT achieved in its history”.