Three publicly traded lenders – United Commercial Bank (UCB), Uttara Bank, and NRB Commercial Bank – saw significant earnings fall in the first six months of the current year on a year-on-year basis, thanks to an increase in interest expenses on deposits and borrowings, coupled with the rise in operating expenses.
As per its unaudited financial statements posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website Tuesday, UCB posted a Tk 100.41 crore profit in January-June 2023, down 20 per cent from the profit of Tk 125.51 crore in the same period one year ago.
Similarly, the lender’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) fell to Tk 0.68 in the current year’s H1 from Tk 0.85 in the same half last year.
The bank’s profit stood at Tk 51.68 crore in April–June quarter of 2023, down from Tk 91.55 crore reported in the same period last year.
Its consolidated EPS was Tk 0.35 in April–June of 2023, compared to Tk 0.62 for the same quarter of 2022.
The leading private commercial bank said the rise in interest expenses on deposits and borrowings and the increase in operating expenses resulted in a significant decrease in operating profit, hence the net earnings, also known as net income in the first six months this year compared to those in the same period last year.
The growth of the disbursement of loans and advances was less than that of the deposits in Q2 2023. This resulted in an increase in net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) in the April-June quarter this year compared to that of same period last year, the bank said.
Meanwhile, Uttara Bank, a leading first-generation private commercial bank, reported a year-on-year net profit decline of 18 per cent to Tk 120 crore in the January-June period this year.
The lender’s consolidated earnings per share was Tk 1.64 in the six months of 2023, compared to Tk 2.00 reported in the same period one year ago.
Its consolidated net operating cash flow per share was Tk 6.73 negative for January-June 2023 against Tk 11.23 negative for the same period last year. The consolidated net asset value per share was Tk 28.31 as on June 30, 2023, which was Tk 26.21 till June 30, 2022.
The private commercial lender also posted a 35 per cent year-on-year lower profit in the second quarter of the ongoing year due to higher provisions and lower income from the export-import business.
The bank made Tk 65 crore in profit in the current year’s June quarter, down from Tk 100 crore in the same quarter a year before.
Similarly, its consolidated earnings per share stood at Tk 0.90 in April–June 2023 against Tk 1.38 in the same period last year.
As per the second quarterly (Q2) unaudited financial statement of NRB Commercial (NRBC), the lender’s consolidated EPS stood at Tk 0.51 for January-June 2023 against Tk 0.73 for the same period last year.
The fourth generation bank’s consolidated EPS was Tk 0.51 negative for April–June 2023 versus Tk 0.06 negative for April-June 2022.
At the end of June this year, the bank’s deposits rose by 19 per cent to Tk 17,753 crore which was Tk 14,917 crores at the end of June last year. On the other hand, the bank’s loan disbursements stood at Tk 14,348 crore as on June this year which was Tk 12,416 crore till June last year.
In contrast, AB Bank, another listed private commercial bank, reported earnings per share of Tk 0.43 for January-June 2023 against Tk 0.41 for the same period last year.
In the April-June period, the bank’s consolidated earnings per share was Tk 0.31, compared to Tk 0.23 in the same period one year ago.
