Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait – Egypt (ABK-Egypt), has announced achieving breakthrough results for the first half (1H) of 2022, reflecting solid growth in business volume and very strong performance over the course of the year.
The Bank achieved EGP 887m net profit in 1H 2022 compared to EGP 396m in 1H 2021, with net interest income growing 27% to EGP 1.3bn in 1H 2022 compared to EGP 1bn over the same period in 2021.
According to the Bank’s announced results, the total assets grew by 8% to reach EGP 61.4bn in June 2022 compared to EGP 56.8bn in December 2021. The total customer deposits witnessed an increase of 12% to reach EGP 53.7bn compared to EGP 47.9bn, and the Bank’s total gross loans portfolio also increased by 13% to reach EGP 30.85bn compared to EGP 27.4bn in December 2021.
The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio reached 2.28%, with a coverage ratio exceeding 170%.
Ali Marafi, Chairperson of ABK-Egypt, said: “The outstanding performance in the first half of this year demonstrates the strength of our agile growth strategy and our vigilant approach, which allowed us to record very positive financial results despite the challenging economic landscape. ABK-Egypt’s growth strategy is primarily focused on sustainable growth in the Egyptian market and we remain positive about our future in the country. Over the coming period, we will be working relentlessly on keeping our performance momentum to achieve growth and profitability as we continue to focus on our strategic goals.”
Marafi also expressed his appreciation for all endeavors taken by the Egyptian Government and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to weather the rising economic conditions and thanked them on behalf of the Board of Directors for their constant keenness to provide valuable guidance with all means of support during challenging times.
Khaled El Salawy, CEO and Managing Director of ABK-Egypt, commented: “Our positive results during 1H 2022 confirm the effective role played by our leadership team in delivering our strategy and achieving outstanding results on all financial performance indicators. These efforts contributed to strengthening our position as one of the fastest growing banks in Egypt. With a solid financial position featuring an increase in net operating profit by 37% to reach EGP 1.04bn compared to EGP 756m in the first half of 2021, and profit before tax recording EGP 1.2bn compared to EGP 580m in June 2021. I take this opportunity to thank our people for their resilient efforts and our customers for their continuous loyalty and support.”
El Salawy added: “We are very keen on offering a distinguished banking experience to our customers in line with our plans to expand our presence in the Egyptian market and achieve digital transformation. Our strategy over the coming period will allow us to intensify our efforts to attract new customer segments, offer ultimate convenience to our customers through availing a wide range of digital services, and maintain the focus given to supporting the SMEs sector with a full bouquet of services and business solutions in line with national directions towards economic growth.”
In 2022, the Bank continued to support all Central Bank of Egypt initiatives targeting financial inclusion and enhancing financial literacy amongst unbanked segments. ABK-Egypt launched a set of new accounts for different customer segments including “Bedaya” accounts for individuals and very small companies with simplified procedures, “Sohoula” account for individuals and “Future” account for youth between 16 and 21 years requiring only their national ID. All four accounts provide exclusive benefits and are opened with zero account opening fees, no minimum balance fees, free debit card issuance and free access to online and mobile banking services, which appeals to unbanked segments and allows the Bank to attract new customers.
