For the six months ended 31 December 2022, AfrAsia Bank had a remarkable financial performance with a significant increase of 157% in net profit after tax (NPAT) reaching MUR 2.0bn, compared to MUR 769.8m in the same period last year. This exponential rise was mainly driven by an improved performance across all products of the Bank, backed by continuous growing yield levels.
The Bank’s balance sheet remains robust, with total assets standing at MUR 220.7bn, up 11% compared to December 2021. Loans and advances improved by MUR 13.6bn to reach MUR 49.0bn (December 2021: MUR 35.4bn) as at end of December 2022. This growth is the result of the Bank’s continuous focus on service delivery standards while maintaining a competitive edge on the market.
On the liability side, the Bank’s deposits base rose by 10%, rising from MUR 189.2bn as at end of December 2021 to MUR 207.6bn by the end of December 2022, which demonstrates customers’ confidence level in the AfrAsia brand. The Bank’s net loan-to-deposit ratio has increased to 24% from 19% in the same period last year.
As a result of the rising interest rates and our growing balance sheet size, the Bank witnessed an increase of 269% in net interest income to reach MUR 2.2bn in this period from MUR 595.6m in December 2021. Also, net fee and commission income rose by 24% from MUR 327.6m in December 2021 to MUR 405.5m as at end of December 2022, primarily resulting from a higher volume of transactions.
The Bank’s total capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.37% (December 2021: 15.08%), which is above the minimum regulatory requirements as at December 2022.
“Our results for the last two quarters have been very encouraging and clearly indicate that we are heading in the right direction to drive the business forward. The strong growth as well as the significant increase in profitability result from the ongoing support of our customers and the hard work of our fellow AfrAsians. Our business pipelines are healthy and asset quality robust. This has set the ideal momentum for us to achieve sustainable growth in the second half of this financial year.” commented Thierry Vallet, Interim CEO at AfrAsia Bank.