BRAC Bank posts Tk 1.38b profit after tax in Q3

BRAC Bank has posted upbeat financial results for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021.

The bank registered a net profit after tax (NPAT) of Tk 1.38 billion with a growth of 8.0 per cent, compared to the same quarter of 2020 on standalone basis. On a consolidated basis, the NPAT stood at Tk 1.23 billion with year-on-year decrease of 14 per cent, says a press release.

The bank's Q3 earnings were announced on a virtual platform recently. Local and foreign investment analysts, portfolio managers and capital market experts joined the event.

The bank also reported earnings per share (EPS) at Tk 0.99 on a standalone basis and at Tk 1.02 on a consolidated basis for Q3 2021.

Its loans and advances grew by 5.0 per cent compared to December 2020 in line with strategic direction, led by retail business.

The bank said customer deposits decreased by 4.0 per cent compared to December 2020 with a conscious effort to use funding base optimally. However, the CASA mix further improved to 59 per cent at the end of Q3 2021 which was 53 per cent in December 2020.

The bank achieved good growth in non-funded businesses in 2021 -- Acceptances, LC issuance and bills collection showed very encouraging growth of 50 per cent, 70 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, compared to December 2020.

BRAC Bank ended the third quarter with 54 per cent year-on-year growth in net interest income.

The net asset value (NAV) per share, as at September 2021, stood at Tk 35.2 on a consolidated basis and at Tk 34.1 on a standalone basis, the bank said.

BRAC Bank's Managing Director and CEO Selim RF Hussain, DMD and Chief Financial Officer M Masud Rana FCA, DMD and Chief Operating Officer Md Sabbir Hossain, DMD and Head of Corporate Banking Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, DMD and Head of SME Syed Abdul Momen, Head of Retail Banking Md Mahiul Islam and Head of Treasury and FIs Md Shaheen Iqbal and Head of Credit Risk Management Ahmed Rashid Joy presented the financial results and outlined the bank's strategy.

Selim RF Hussain said: "BRAC Bank's key financial indicators are showing sign of returning to normalcy and catching up business momentum. Retail business led the revenue stream driving growth of loans and advances by 5.0 per cent. Non-funded income, net interest income and CASA mix improved further showing a silver lining for the bottom line."