Amana Bank delivers strong 9-month performance; Profits up 26% to cross Rs. 1bn

Asgi Akbarally	Mohamed Azmeer

Amana Bank continued its strong financial performance as it closed the 9 months ending 30 September 2024 with a Profit Before Tax of Rs. 1.98 billion, reflecting a 18 percent YoY increase compared to Rs. 1.68 billion recorded for the corresponding period of 2023. Showcasing a 26 percent YoY growth, Profit After Tax grew from Rs. 891 million to cross the Rs. 1 billion mark and close at Rs 1.12 billion.

With financing rates declining across the banking industry in a bid to spur economic growth, the bank’s financing income closed at Rs. 11.70 billion. However, by maintaining a strong financing margin of 4.1 percent, the bank posted a Net Financing Income growth of 6 percent YoY to reach Rs. 5.13 billion compared with Rs. 4.85 billion posted in the corresponding period in 2023.  

The bank’s Total Operating income stood at Rs. 6.50 billion, marginally lower by 4 percent from last year. With a robust recovery mechanism in place and renewed customer engagement, the bank was able to reduce its impairment charges by 73 percent, due to which Net Operating Income improved by 16 percent YoY to close at Rs. 6.11 billion. 

Despite increase in Operating Expenses, the bank continued to maintain a healthy cost to income ratio of 53 percent, resulting in a 6 percent YoY growth in Operating Profit before VAT on Financial Services to post Rs. 2.69 billion. 

The bank’s aggregate tax contribution of approximately Rs. 1.57 billion accounted for a significant 58 percent of the bank’s Operating Profit before all taxes. The Total Comprehensive Income for the period was Rs. 1.10 billion, reflecting a healthy YoY growth of 24 percent.

Following the increased acceptance for non-interest based banking, the Bank’s advances and deposits portfolios grew significantly during the 9 months ending 30 September 2024. Promoting its development focused banking approach, customer advances grew by 16 percent or Rs. 15 billion to surpass the Rs. 100 billion milestone to post Rs. 104.42 billion whilst maintain an industry low Stage 3 Impairment ratio of 1.4 percent. Posting a healthy 9 month growth of 10 percent, customer deposits closed the 3rd quarter at Rs. 145.72 billion, with a strong CASA ratio of 42.3 percent setting an industry benchmark. 

The bank’s Total Assets stood at Rs. 172.52 billion whereas Net Asset Value per Share improved to Rs. 41.40. Given the robust performance during the nine months, the bank’s ROE and ROA stood at 6.7 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. 

As at 30 September 2024, Amãna Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 and Total Capital ratios stood at 15.5 percent and 18.1 percent respectively, well above the regulatory minimum requirement of 7 percent and 12.5 percent. Commenting on the nine-month performance Amãna Bank Chairman Asgi Akbarally stated, “In a quarter in which the entire country’s focus was primarily on the Presidential election, Amãna Bank, despite a challenging environment, once again showcased its resilience to post a strong financial performance on key matrices. On behalf of the board, I would like to extend our appreciation to all our valued stakeholders, who have continued to support the bank’s journey of growth and prosperity.”

Also sharing his comments, Amãna Bank Managing Director/CEO Mohamed Azmeer stated, “We are pleased with the Bank’s strong performance during the first nine months of the year, demonstrating its resilience and ability to deliver sustainable growth. Amãna Bank’s development focussed and people friendly banking approach along with prudent risk management practices and efficient operations have enabled us to navigate challenging market conditions and once again deliver value to its stakeholders.”