HBL profit tad higher

KARACHI: Habib Bank Limited (HBL) on Thursday said it has earned a net profit of Rs9.079 billion in the quarter ended on March 30, 2017, higher 0.5 percent as compared to Rs9.034 billion posted in the same period last year, a bourse filing revealed on Thursday.

According to analysts, the results are in line with market expectations as the bank’s earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs6.16 for the quarter under review compared with Rs6.15 last year.   In the notification, sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the HBL also announced first interim cash dividend of Rs3.5/share.

“Non funded income, up 27 percent with a higher share of profit from associates and joint ventures along with capital gains, is in focus” Fawad Basir at Arif Habib Limited in his comments on HBL’s earnings. As per details, capital gains stood at Rs1.275 billion for the quarter as against Rs360.78 million last year, while share of profit from associates and joint ventures surged 71 percent to Rs1.275 billion compared to Rs736.418 million last year. Moreover, the bank’s net interest income remained stable at Rs20.126 billion for the quarter under review as against Rs20.184 billion in the corresponding period a year ago. “Despite pressure on yields, the bank was able to maintain its net interest income with likely support from efficient deposit mix and overall balance sheet growth,” Ibad-ur-Rehman at Elixir Securities said in a report.

The bank further said that its total non-interest income for the quarter under review stood at Rs14.065 billion compared with Rs12.462 billion in the same period last year.

ICI profit up 18pc

ICI Pakistan Limited has announced unconsolidated profit-after-tax of Rs2.396 billion for the nine months ended March 31, 2017, showing a growth of 18 percent as compared to the same period of the last year.

The company’s EPS clocked in at Rs25.94 for the period under review, which is also 18 percent higher as compared to the same period of the last year.  “The improved performance is attributed to the polyester, life sciences and chemical businesses’ operating results improving by 53 percent, 14 percent and 28 percent, respectively,” a statement said.

Improved domestic margins along with successful cost control initiatives were the driving force behind the improved performance of the polyester business.  Pharmaceuticals and animal health divisions of the life sciences business posted double-digit growth, while in the chemicals business, the polyurethane (PU) segment has been the major contributor to growth.  The net turnover for the nine months stood at Rs30.244 billion, up 11 percent as compared to the same period of the last year.