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Eastern Bank Limited (EBL), a listed private commercial bank, posted a 9.67 per cent rise in its net profit in the year 2022.
The lender reported Tk 510.79 crore in net profit in 2022 against Tk 465.72 crore in the previous year, according to the bank’s annual financial report.
The bank’s profit surged last year as it was able to bring down its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to 2.78 per cent in 2022 from 3.70 per cent in the previous year.
NPLs had dropped last year due to the proper monitoring with regard to the correctness of loan collections and the prudent granting of new loans, the bank said. The lender’s non-performing loan (NPL) outlay dropped to Tk 858 crore in 2022 from Tk 997.7 crore in 2021.
The bank’s non-performing loans in 2020 were Tk 622.6 crore.
Abdullah Al Mamun, company secretary of Eastern Bank Limited, told The Business Post that the management of the bank is always alert to bring NPLs under control.
Due to some directives of the Bangladesh Bank during the pandemic, there had been a relaxation in loan collection. As a result, EBL’s NPL ratio rose to 3.70 per cent in 2021, he added.
Later, the EBL management became more prudent in loan disbursements and collections, which led the NPL ratio to come down to 2.78 per cent in 2022.
The bank had made a net profit of Tk 410.3 crore in 2020 and Tk 400.8 crore in 2019.
The private commercial lender reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 4.76 for 2022 which was Tk 4.34 in 2021.
The consolidated net asset value (NAV) per share of EBL rose to Tk 33.33 last year from Tk 29.48 a year ago, while its consolidated net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) turned at negative Tk 0.39 in 2022 from Tk 12.54 in 2021.
The board of directors of the bank recommended a 12.50 per cent cash and a 12.50 per cent stock dividend for the year ending on December 2022.
The bank had given the same dividend payout for 2021.
Abdullah Al Mamun said although its profit surged in 2022 it could not announce higher dividend due to a regulatory complication.
According to the central bank’s guidelines, if a bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is less than 15 per cent, that bank cannot pay more than a 25 per cent dividend. Eastern Bank’s CAR stood at 14.3 percent till 2022.
In a filing posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), EBL said the stock dividend has been recommended to strengthen the capital base in order to support projected business growth and improve certain regulatory ratios.
Incorporated in 1992, the bank got listed in 1993.
The lender will hold its AGM through a digital platform on May 31. For the dividend splits, the record date has been fixed as May 21.
With an authorised capital of Tk 1200 crore, the company has a paid-up capital base of Tk 1073 crore with Tk 107 crore of securities.
Its sponsor-directors owned a 30.67 per cent stake in the company,
while institutional investors held 48.49 per cent, foreign investors 0.19 per cent, and the general public 20.65 per cent till February 2023, according to DSE data.
