ICB Islamic Bank has posted heavy losses in 2023, the highest in last five years, according to its financial report published on the DSE website on Sunday.
The report also said that the bank's losses have increased by 123 per cent compared to the previous year. ICB Islamic Bank reported a net loss of Tk 56.49 crore as of December 31, 2023, compared to Tk 25.25 crore in the same period last year.
However, the bank did not provide any information on the DSE website about why losses increased. The bank said that it would not pay dividend to shareholders in 2023 due to losses.
The bank booked a net loss of Tk 48.56 crore in 2018 while Tk 42.37 crore in 2019.
Losses at the end of December 2020 fell to Tk 18.72 crore, but at the end of December 2021, losses increased by 110 per cent to Tk 39.48 crore.
The company has reported earnings per share (EPS) of negative Tk 0.85, net asset value (NAV) per share of negative Tk 19.36, and net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Tk 0.82 for the year ended on December 31, 2023 as against negative Tk 0.38, negative Tk 18.51, and negative Tk 0.88 respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2022.
Although the company has been posting losses year-on-year, the bank turned to profitability for the first time during the April–June period of 2022.
In the April-June quarter of 2022, the bank's net profits stood at Tk 10.09 crore and earnings per share (EPS) at Tk 0.15, according to the bank’s financial statement.
But from January to June of this year, its net profits decreased to Tk 1.23 crore and EPS to Tk 0.02 year-on-year, owing to losses in the January-March quarter.
ICB Islamic Bank's origins can be traced back to 1987 when it was operating under the moniker Al-Baraka Bank. In 1994, it became a 'problematic bank'. Then in 2004, it started functioning as a scheduled commercial bank under a new name, 'Oriental Bank'.
In June 2006, the Bangladesh Bank dissolved the board of directors of Oriental Bank after detecting massive corruption. To safeguard the interests of depositors, the central bank took full control over the bank.
In August 2007, the central bank floated a tender to sell the majority of the bank's shares.
Two bidders participated in the tender, with Swiss ICB Group walking away with the stake. The bank was renamed ICB Islamic Bank in 2008.
The paid-up capital of this "Z" catering bank is Tk 664 crore and its authorised capital is Tk 1,500 crore while the total number of securities is 66.47 crore.
The sponsor-directors hold a 52.76 per cent stake in the company, while the government owns 0.17 per cent and institutional investors 21.64 per cent, and general public 25.43 per cent as of February 2024, the DSE data shows.
It was listed on the stock exchanges in 1990. At the end of Sunday’s trading session, its shares closed at Tk 4 each at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
ICB Islamic Bank held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on July 11, 2024 through a digital platform. May 9, 2024 has been fixed as the record date for the distribution of declared dividend among shareholders.
