The profit of Jamuna Bank, a private commercial lender, swelled by 25 per cent year-on-year in the March quarter of 2023, thanks to healthy investment and interest income.
The listed bank secured higher profits in the quarter despite a staggering decline in its income from capital market-related commission, exchange, and brokerage segments.
The bank’s investment income jumped by 24.17 per cent in the January–March quarter of 2023 which helped it secure higher profits, officials concerned said.
The listed lender’s investment income was worth Tk 156.13 crore in the first quarter of the current year against Tk 125.73 crore in the same quarter last year.
Against investments, the bank had earned Tk 120.15 crore and Tk 86.21 crore in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
The commercial bank’s interest income also grew up significantly, with receipts worth Tk 364.95 crore in the March quarter of 2023, compared to Tk 291.26 crore in the same period a year ago. Its net interest income stood at Tk 101.09 crore after the payment of customer claims from the total interest income of the bank.
The net interest income was Tk 84.75 crore in the first quarter of 2022.
On the other hand, the private commercial lender’s income from the capital market-related commission, exchange, and brokerage segments declined by around 36 per cent in the current year’s first quarter on a year-on-year basis.
The listed bank earned Tk 58.43 crore in commission, exchange, and brokerage during the January–March period this year from Tk 91.15 crore in the same period of 2022.
Its income in 2021 from this sector was Tk 47.14 crore, which was Tk 49.47 crore in 2020.
A senior official of the bank said the income from this sector got decreased due to the downward trend in share prices in the early months of the current year.
“Despite earnings fall in this segment, our profit continued to grow up riding on healthy investment income and interest income,” he added.
The bank’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) rose to Tk 1.78 in the March quarter of 2023 from Tk 1.72 in the same quarter a year ago.
Its consolidated net asset value per share was Tk 27.56 at end of March 2023, while its net operating cash flow per share was Tk 26.34.
The bank recommended a 17.50 per cent cash and 8.50 per cent stock dividends for its shareholders for the year ended in December 2022.
As on 31 May 2023, of its total shares, sponsors and directors held 46.29 per cent; while institutional, foreign, and general investors held 6.30 per cent, 0.45 per cent, and 46.96 per cent, respectively.
Listed on the local bourses in 2006, the private sector lender announced a plan last March to purchase 110 kathas of land for Tk 137.50 crore to expand its head office in the capital’s Khilkhet area.
Jamuna Bank shares closed at Tk 20.90 each on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Sunday.
