Bank Alfalah has announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2016, with the bank registering a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs7.9 billion in December 2016 as against Rs7.5 billion in December 2015, improving by 5 per cent.
Earnings per share (EPS) were reported at Rs4.96 as compared to Rs4.73 reported in December 2015.
“Bank Alfalah’s performance in 2016 reflects yet another year of sound financial results amidst a challenging business environment. During the year, we continued to create value for our shareholders and customers. We have strived to promote financial and digital inclusion in the country through various initiatives, and remain committed to expanding our impact further to touch the lives of as many people as possible” said Atif Bajwa President & CEO, Bank Alfalah.
The bank’s total revenue remained at Rs37.6 billion against 37.5 billion last year. While we continued investing in innovation, the management of the bank placed further controls over expenses. Resultantly, the growth of non-markup expenses was restricted to 3.7 per cent.
The bank’s total assets in December 2016 stood at Rs917 billion as against last year’s Rs903 billion. Deposits remained at Rs640 billion with CASA mix improving to 83.3 per cent. The bank’s lending activity remained healthy with gross advances improving by 13 percent to Rs. 396 Billion in December 2016.
The bank has a gross ADR at 62 per cent at year end 2016, one of the highest amongst peers. The board of directors of the bank, cognisant of the fact that capital strengthening would be the key driver behind sustainable long-term growth, has recommended retention of profits for the outgoing year.
As at 31 December 2016, the bank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio stands at 4.8 per cent, which is better than the industry average. This denotes the very high quality of bank’s lending portfolio with a significantly improved NPL coverage of 86 per cent.
JCR-VIS Credit Rating Co. Ltd. has recently assigned the Bank a long-term credit rating of ‘AA+’ (Double A Plus) and a short-term rating of ‘A-1+’ (A-One Plus) with a stable outlook. The bank is also rated ‘AA/A-1+’ (Double A/A-One Plus) with a positive outlook by PACRA. These ratings reflect bank’s healthy financial risk profile, strong sponsors and a strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
