Manama I February 20, 2023
Al Baraka Group B.S.C. (“ABG” or “Group”), Bahrain Bourse trading code “BARKA”, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter (“the quarter”) and twelve months ended 31 December 2022 (“the year”).
The Group announced a net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company of US$17 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with US$15 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 17%.
Basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter was US Cents (0.03) compared with US Cents (0.09) in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Group’s net income for the fourth quarter was US$32 million compared with US$39 million in the prior year period, down 17%.
Financial Results for the Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2022:
As for the financial results for the 2022 year, the Group’s net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company was US$143 million, up 52% from US$94 million for the same period in 2021. This reflects a strong performance across the Group’s subsidiaries (“Units”) with significant contributions from its Units in Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. It also reflects continued solid income generation from the Group’s financing and investment activities, despite ongoing market volatility throughout the year.
The Group reported that Basic and diluted earnings per share for the year was US Cents 9.06 compared with US Cents 5.17 for the prior year.
The Group’s total net income for the 2022 year was US$239 million, compared with US$157 million in 2021, showing an increase of 52%. Total operating income for 2022 was US$1.1 billion versus US$993 million in the full year 2021, up 15%. Growth in profit was predominantly driven by higher income generation achieved by the Group’s Units. Profitability was also supported by success in the Group’s efforts over the year to control costs, which saw total expenses remain stable at US$522 million in 2022 versus US$524 million in the prior year despite high inflationary environment.
Total equity was US$1.97 billion at 31 December 2022 compared with US$2.00 billion at year-end 2021, a decrease of 2%. Total equity attributable to shareholders and Sukuk holders of the parent company was US$1.26 billion at 31 December 2022 versus US$1.36 billion at year-end 2021, a reduction of 7% due to negative foreign currency translation reserves.
Total Assets of the Group at year-end 2022 were US$24.98 billion compared with US$27.79 billion at year-end 2021, a decrease of 10%. The decline was the result of the devaluation of local currencies against the US Dollar in many of the countries where the Group operates, including Turkey, Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan. In constant rates, the total assets would have grown by 10%.
During the year 2022, the Group re-assessed, in terms of the requirements of FAS 23 – Consolidation, its relationship with Al Baraka Bank Syria (“ABBS”), in which it holds directly and indirectly 29% of the ordinary share capital. Based on the reassessment, the Group concluded that it did not have control over ABS. As a result, the management has restated the comparative figures to correct the consolidation error in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 as prior year restatements. Furthermore, the administration of Al Baraka Lebanon was brought under Central Bank of Lebanon. Considering the economic situation in Lebanon, ABG does not intend, for the foreseeable future, to inject any further capital in Al Baraka Lebanon; this is effectively a loss of control over the subsidiary. Accordingly, Al Baraka Lebanon was classified as Investments in the financial statements of ABG, rather than being fully consolidated.
Commenting, Shaikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Chairman of ABG, said, “We are extremely pleased with the significant double-digit growth in income and profitability delivered by the Group for 2022. We are especially happy with these results given the very challenging market environment globally and across our markets of operation, where a number of negative factors persisted, including heightened geopolitical risk, higher cost of funding and rising inflation. Despite volatility, our Units across the board have shown great resilience delivering strong performance and increased contributions. This is down to ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency through investments in digitalisation and automation in addition to tight costs management. Going forward, we will continue to focus our strategy on further streamlining our business and delivering even stronger performance as underscored by these results.”
Houssem Ben Haj Amor, Group CEO at ABG, added, “We are delighted with the strong results delivered by ABG in 2022. We saw further growth and progress across our Units as they continued to meet the demands of customers for seamless access to innovative financial products and solutions. Our focus throughout the year remained on further consolidating our position in core markets and business lines, where we saw continued growth opportunities for the Group. In light of this, we successfully completed a number of strategic exits during the year from legacy non-performing assets. This will help us strengthen the Group’s balance sheet and free up resources to pursue more profitable opportunities. While conditions globally and in our markets have remained challenging thus far in 2023, we expect a cooling-off in inflation and a gradual easing of profit rates later in the year. This will provide grounds for better performance. We have entered the year with strong momentum and look forward to building on our results in the forthcoming periods.”
This press release in addition to the ABG financial statements are available on the Bahrain Bourse and Group website at: www.albaraka.com
The Group announced a net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company of US$17 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with US$15 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 17%.
Basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter was US Cents (0.03) compared with US Cents (0.09) in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Group’s net income for the fourth quarter was US$32 million compared with US$39 million in the prior year period, down 17%.
Financial Results for the Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2022:
As for the financial results for the 2022 year, the Group’s net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company was US$143 million, up 52% from US$94 million for the same period in 2021. This reflects a strong performance across the Group’s subsidiaries (“Units”) with significant contributions from its Units in Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. It also reflects continued solid income generation from the Group’s financing and investment activities, despite ongoing market volatility throughout the year.
The Group reported that Basic and diluted earnings per share for the year was US Cents 9.06 compared with US Cents 5.17 for the prior year.
The Group’s total net income for the 2022 year was US$239 million, compared with US$157 million in 2021, showing an increase of 52%. Total operating income for 2022 was US$1.1 billion versus US$993 million in the full year 2021, up 15%. Growth in profit was predominantly driven by higher income generation achieved by the Group’s Units. Profitability was also supported by success in the Group’s efforts over the year to control costs, which saw total expenses remain stable at US$522 million in 2022 versus US$524 million in the prior year despite high inflationary environment.
Total equity was US$1.97 billion at 31 December 2022 compared with US$2.00 billion at year-end 2021, a decrease of 2%. Total equity attributable to shareholders and Sukuk holders of the parent company was US$1.26 billion at 31 December 2022 versus US$1.36 billion at year-end 2021, a reduction of 7% due to negative foreign currency translation reserves.
Total Assets of the Group at year-end 2022 were US$24.98 billion compared with US$27.79 billion at year-end 2021, a decrease of 10%. The decline was the result of the devaluation of local currencies against the US Dollar in many of the countries where the Group operates, including Turkey, Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan. In constant rates, the total assets would have grown by 10%.
During the year 2022, the Group re-assessed, in terms of the requirements of FAS 23 – Consolidation, its relationship with Al Baraka Bank Syria (“ABBS”), in which it holds directly and indirectly 29% of the ordinary share capital. Based on the reassessment, the Group concluded that it did not have control over ABS. As a result, the management has restated the comparative figures to correct the consolidation error in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 as prior year restatements. Furthermore, the administration of Al Baraka Lebanon was brought under Central Bank of Lebanon. Considering the economic situation in Lebanon, ABG does not intend, for the foreseeable future, to inject any further capital in Al Baraka Lebanon; this is effectively a loss of control over the subsidiary. Accordingly, Al Baraka Lebanon was classified as Investments in the financial statements of ABG, rather than being fully consolidated.
Commenting, Shaikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Chairman of ABG, said, “We are extremely pleased with the significant double-digit growth in income and profitability delivered by the Group for 2022. We are especially happy with these results given the very challenging market environment globally and across our markets of operation, where a number of negative factors persisted, including heightened geopolitical risk, higher cost of funding and rising inflation. Despite volatility, our Units across the board have shown great resilience delivering strong performance and increased contributions. This is down to ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency through investments in digitalisation and automation in addition to tight costs management. Going forward, we will continue to focus our strategy on further streamlining our business and delivering even stronger performance as underscored by these results.”
Houssem Ben Haj Amor, Group CEO at ABG, added, “We are delighted with the strong results delivered by ABG in 2022. We saw further growth and progress across our Units as they continued to meet the demands of customers for seamless access to innovative financial products and solutions. Our focus throughout the year remained on further consolidating our position in core markets and business lines, where we saw continued growth opportunities for the Group. In light of this, we successfully completed a number of strategic exits during the year from legacy non-performing assets. This will help us strengthen the Group’s balance sheet and free up resources to pursue more profitable opportunities. While conditions globally and in our markets have remained challenging thus far in 2023, we expect a cooling-off in inflation and a gradual easing of profit rates later in the year. This will provide grounds for better performance. We have entered the year with strong momentum and look forward to building on our results in the forthcoming periods.”
This press release in addition to the ABG financial statements are available on the Bahrain Bourse and Group website at: www.albaraka.com