Bank Alfalah H1 profit up 17.5pc

KARACHI: Bank Alfalah on Thursday reported a 17.5 percent increase in net profit to Rs4.353 billion for the period ended June 30, 2016, after accounting for the impact of super tax during the second quarter.   

The bank’s earnings per share improved to Rs2.73 during the first half of the current calendar year as compared to Rs2.33 reported in the same period last year. The bank posted pre-tax profits of Rs7.592 billion, a growth of 15.4 percent over the corresponding period last year.

The bank’s net mark-up income after provisions was reported at Rs14.245 billion, improving by 12.2 percent over the corresponding period last year. The overall net revenue earned by the bank after provisions amounted to Rs19.250 billion, registering an increase of 10 percent over the corresponding period last year, while total operating expenses were curtailed at below seven percent.

Bank Alfalah’s total deposits remained at the same level as that of December 2015 end, with current and savings accounts mix improving from 74.5 percent in December 2015 to 79.0 percent at June 2016.

The bank’s lending activity continued to remain healthy with gross advance-to-deposit reported at 56.5 percent by June 2016.

In June 2016, the bank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) coverage stood at 82.1 percent. Net provisioning charge against advances and investments improved by 66 percent against the corresponding half year, on account of higher recoveries and lower gross provisioning, the statement added.