​​Net profit of US$154 million attributable to the shareholders of the parent, a 54% surge over last year  

Manama, Bahrain: Bank ABC (Arab Banking Corporation B.S.C.) - Bahrain Bourse Trading Code “ABC” - today announces its results for the Year ended 31 December 2022.

The Group’s total operating income crossed the US$1 billion mark during 2022 for the first time in the Bank’s history, with solid core business growth across the franchise, aided by higher interest rates prevalent during the year. These strong revenues contributed to the Group delivering a robust overall performance during 2022, with a headline net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent of US$154 million, up 54% on 2021.        

Another major milestone has been the achievement in Egypt of “Legal Day 1” on 1 January 2023, as BLOM Bank Egypt S.A.E (“BBE”) merged with our existing franchise to create a much stronger combined Bank ABC Egypt, which will boost growth of our market share going forward. In addition, our Digital transformation programme continued to progress well with all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in our mobile-only bank ila, and our fintech payments provider AFS, exceeding our aspirational targets.

These achievements were well recognised by prestigious awards platforms; a testament to Bank ABC’s vision and digital transformation strategy, which is geared towards building a stronger platform to substantially increase our business and become even more relevant and responsive to the needs of our clients. Among the many awards conferred during the year were The Best Bank in ‘Transaction Banking’ and ‘Innovation in Digital Banking’ in the MENA region by The Banker, ‘Best Digital Banking Initiative’ and ‘MENA Islamic Finance Bank of the Year’ by MEED,  Best Overall Bank for Cash Management in Bahrain and Tunisia’ by Global Finance and ‘Best Bank for Digital solutions in Bahrain’ from Euromoney Awards for Excellence in 2022.

Key performance highlights:

• Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent of US$154 million a growth of 54% compared to 2021, when the Group achieved a net profit of US$100 million.
• Total Operating Income crossed the historic US$1 billion mark in 2022. A significant 29% headline increase supported by growth across all the core markets and beneficial interest rates environment in addition to consolidation of full year results of BBE (2021 included five months of BBE revenues).
• Operating expenses was higher by 21% mainly due to full year costs of BBE during 2022 (2021 included five months of BBE costs) and costs returning to pre-pandemic levels in core markets. The Group also continued its investments into its strategic digital initiatives to build its ‘bank of the future’.
• Balance sheet remains strong with capital and liquidity ratios well above the regulatory requirements: the Group’s T1 ratio is at 15.7%, comprising predominantly CET1. LCR 225% and NSFR 124%.

Bank ABC's Group Chairman, Mr. Saddek Omar El Kaber commented, “In 2022 the Group has delivered remarkable results, with record-breaking revenues of over US$1 billion, building momentum from the previous year with accelerated performance, which has contributed to a 54% increase in our net profit to shareholders. On the back of this solid performance, we are setting bold aspirations for 2023, cautious of the expected economic headwinds such as tighter financial conditions, ongoing war in Europe and persistent inflationary conditions. We are confident of capitalising our strengths and leveraging our investments to continue to accelerate profitable growth during 2023.” 

A more detailed summary of the Financial Results is explained below:

Q4 2022 Financial results

• Consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent, for the three months of Q4 2022 was US$40 million, US$20 million higher, a growth of 100%, compared to US$20 million reported for the same period last year.
• Earnings per share for the period was US$0.01, comparable to US$0.01 in the same period in the previous year.
• Total comprehensive income attributable to the shareholders of the parent was US$11 million, 15% lower, compared to US$13 million reported for the same period last year. 
  
  

FY 2022 Financial results

• Consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent, for the year 2022 was US$154 million, 54% higher, compared to a net profit of US$100 million reported for the same period last year.
• Earnings per share for the period was at US$0.05, compared to US$0.03 in the previous year.
• Total comprehensive income attributable to the shareholders of the parent was a loss of US$98 million compared to total comprehensive income of US$105 million reported last year.  

Balance Sheet 

• Equity attributable to the shareholders of the parent and perpetual instrument holders at the end of the period was US$4,095 million, 5.8% higher than the US$3,872 million reported at the 2021 year-end. 2022 included Additional Perpetual Tier 1 capital of US$390 million issued during the year.
• Total assets stood at US$36.6 billion at the end of the period, 5% higher compared to US$34.9 billion at the 2021 year-end mainly from a growth across the franchise in Loans and Advances, which stood at US$18.2 billion, 8.8% higher than the US$16.7 billion reported at 2021 year-end. On an underlying basis*, total assets grew by 7.8%.
• Liquidity ratios are strong with LCR and NSFR at 225% and 124% respectively and liquid assets to deposits ratio healthy at 48.1%.
• Capital ratios are strong: Tier 1 is at 15.7% comprising predominantly CET1 at 14% and total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 16.8%. 

Bank ABC is a leading player in the region’s banking industry and provides innovative wholesale financial products and services that include corporate banking, trade finance, project and structured finance, syndications, treasury products and Islamic banking. It also provides retail banking services through its network of retail banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria and through its digital, mobile-only ila Bank in Bahrain.

The full set of the financial statements and the press release are available on the Bahrain Bourse​ and Bank ABC websites.

Mr. Saddek Omar El Kaber