Bank Alfalah continues with prudent provisioning leading to PAT of Rs. 8.3 billion; operating profit up 11.4%

The Board of Directors of Bank Alfalah Limited in its meeting held on October 21, 2020, approved the Bank’s unaudited condensed interim financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2020.

The Bank’s operating profit at Rs. 20.614 billion showed a growth of 11.4% compared to the corresponding period of 2019 despite lockdown in the country and a drop in the policy rate by 625 bps during the year. Subjective provisioning, general provision buildup against advances, and upfront impairment against equities contained profit after tax to Rs. 8.331 billion, which translates into earning per share of  Rs. 4.69 (Sep 2019: Rs. 5.20).

On the revenue front, net markup income and non-markup income showed a combined growth of 10.1% with a strong contribution from capital gains on government securities of Rs. 2.185 billion and FX earning of Rs. 2.762 billion. Fee and commission income remained muted due to lower transaction volume and regulatory waivers of the branch and digital banking fees.

Operating expenses were contained at 9.5% compared to the same period last year. This increase was largely driven by staff costs, IT support and maintenance fee, the full-year impact of new branches opened last year along with an overall impact of inflation and rupee devaluation. The cost to income ratio of the Bank stood at 52.6% slightly better than the corresponding period last year.

Total deposits and advances reported at Rs. 820.066 billion and 520.475 billion respectively. The Bank’s focus remains on re-profiling its deposit base. CASA ratio improved to 82.3%. Gross advances to deposits ratio stood at 63.5%.

The bank is at the forefront of the launch of Bank Alfalah Roshan Digital Account, a major initiative of State Bank of Pakistan, to provide innovative banking solutions for millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs) seeking to undertake banking, payment, and investment activities in Pakistan. The bank is also on verge of the launch of Alfalah Ghar Asaan product, a low-cost housing finance product under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar initiative.

The Board of Directors, in its meeting, declared an interim cash dividend of Rs. 2.0 per share (YTD September 2019: Rs. 2.0 per share).

At the close of the period, the Bank remains adequately capitalized with CAR at 18.35%.