Bank Alfalah posts 28% growth in annual earnings

KARACHI: The Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) posted earnings of Rs18.2 billion, which is 28 per cent higher, compared with the previous year’s Rs14.21 billion, a statement said on Thursday.

The earnings per share of the bank also grew to Rs10.24 during the year under review, compared with the previous year, according to analysts at AKD Securities.

The bank posted earnings of Rs4.1 billion (EPS Rs2.32) for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022, 24 per cent lower on a quarter-on-quarter basis and 10 per cent higher, compared with the same period of the last year.

The analysts said that the results were below the expectations.

The net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2022 clocked-in at Rs23.3 billion, 7 per cent higher QoQ and 92 per cent YoY. The bank earned Rs69.7 billion in interest, while expensed Rs46.4 billion during the quarter.

The non-interest income clocked-in lower-than-estimated at Rs4.3 billion for the fourth quarter, dragged down by lower foreign exchange income. The foreign exchange income for the final quarter came in at Rs885 million, compared with Rs3.5 billion in the earlier quarter.

The lower foreign exchange income can be attributed to the slowdown in remittances during the quarter, along with generally low volumes in the foreign exchange market.

The operating expenses for the quarter were recorded at Rs14.5 billion, 9 per cent higher QoQ and 50 per cent YoY. The higher costs during the period were attributable to the new branches opened by the bank during the end of the year along with the salary adjustments for the bank staff.

The provisions for the final quarter clocked-in at Rs4.3 billion, 6 per cent higher QoQ and 3.85 times YoY. This takes the full-year provisioning expense for the bank to Rs12.5 billion, 4.39 times higher, compared with the same period of the last year.

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