Habib Bank Limited’s profit grew by six times in the first nine months of 2018 as compared to the correspondent period of last year.
According to the financial results, HBL declared a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 9.91 billion for the first nine months of 2018 from Rs. 1.554 billion recorded in the same period of 2017.
The growth of HBL’s profit was seen after recovery of the stability, which hit last year after a penalty of $225 million paid to the US authorities. The bank reported a loss of Rs. 14 billion in a similar period of 2017 although the bank managed to make a profit of Rs. 1.55 billion.
The profitability translates into earnings per share at Rs 6.57. The board declared a dividend of Rs 1.00 per share (10%), bringing the total dividend for the nine months of 2018 to Rs 3.00 per share.
HBL’s core domestic business remains robust. Total domestic deposits increased from December 2017 levels to Rs 1.8 trillion, maintaining the leading market share at over 14 per cent. In the first nine months of 2018, the bank added Rs 101 billion in domestic CASA deposits, led by a 10 per cent growth in current accounts.
HBL’s domestic loan book increased further over June 2018, reaching Rs 819 billion. The consumer business reached a landmark of Rs 50 billion in consumer loans. These positive developments on the domestic balance sheet contributed to a 2 per cent improvement in domestic net interest income. However, with a reduction in the Bank’s international businesses, total net interest income declined marginally by one per cent to Rs 61.1 billion.
The strong recovery performance continued, as the bank recorded a reversal of Rs 144 million during the quarter. Total reversals against loans are now Rs 388 million for the nine months of 2018, compared to a provision of Rs. 313 million in 9M 2017.
Konnect and Digital Channels Grow Impressively
HBL’s Konnect product has shown excellent performance in just one quarter with nearly 900,000 accounts opened, 25 per cent of whom are women. Since launch, 7.8 million transactions valued at Rs. 29 billion have taken place on the Konnect platform. The digital channels of Internet Banking and HBL Mobile increased their acceptance, with users and usage both doubling over the prior year. HBL’s investments in its Business Transformation program are now beginning to bear fruit in the form of a more embedded compliance culture. The bank continues to expand its reach to provide service and convenience to its growing branch customer base. During 2018, the bank has added over 823,000 customers, who it reaches through over 1,700 branches, more than 2,100 ATMs and 18,600 POS machines across Pakistan.
