Bank of Punjab full-year profit declines 17pc

KARACHI: Bank of Punjab (BoP) has announced a net profit of Rs6.88 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is 17 percent lower than the profit of Rs8.27 billion recorded in the previous year.

The earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs2.58 compared with EPS of Rs3.09 in the same period of the previous year. Result is accompanied by cash dividend of Rs1.0 per share, a bourse filing said on Friday.

Arif Habib Limited in its note said, “The primary reason for the yearly contraction in earnings was the massive jump in provisions while hardly any capital gains as compared to last year contributed to the sequential decline.”

Bank’s net interest income also declined 12.68 percent in 2020 to Rs23.424 billion compared with Rs26.84 billion recorded in 2019.

Total non-interest income surged 230 percent to Rs13.07 billion in 2020 compared with Rs3.96 billion in 2019 led by Rs8.46 billion gain on securities, which was Rs221.5 million in the previous year. “Fee income during the year managed to post a 6.0 percent jump despite Covid-induced economic slowdown,” the brokerage house noted. Total non-interest expenses also increased 17.9 percent to Rs17.7 in 2020 billion compared with Rs15.01 billion in 2019.