Bank of Georgia impresses with record H1 growth across the board

14th Aug 2013 09:03

FTSE 250-listed Bank of Georgia unveiled record first-half revenues thanks to strong retail, corporate and investment banking and improving efficiencies. Chief Executive Officer, Irakli Gilauri, said record second quarter revenue growth and the bank's "continuously decreasing cost of funds and markedly improved efficiency over the past year" helped lift first half revenue up 11.3% year-on-year to a record 262.7m Georgian lari (GEL). Profit for the period also reached record levels of GEL 95.1m, or record GEL 2.70 per share, up from GEL 2.57 per share in the same period last year.Net interest margin (NIM) improved strongly to 7.7%, from 8.2% in the equivalent period in 2012. The bank's 'Express' strategy contributed significantly to its efficiency improvements while boosting client acquisition, with 70,000 new clients beginning to use its banking services in the last quarter, bringing total client numbers to nearly 1.2m, up by 25% year-on-year. As for the key drivers of shareholder value, return on equity of 17.6% was down on the 18.6% from the comparable period, while book value per share increased 12.9% year-on-year to GEL 30.9.Gilauri said: "This was a quarter marked by a record high in both revenue and profit and a record low cost to income ratio. A further decrease in the cost of funding and an improved NIM, notwithstanding our high levels of liquidity were among the main contributors to the improved cost to income ratio."The cost to income ratio improved to 41.7% compared to 45.6% in 1H 2012, hitting a record low of 39.9% in the second quarter.The board paid a dividend of GEL 1.5 per share in June and the balance sheet remains strong, ending the first half of the year with a strong Tier I ratio of 22.9%.Shares in Bank of Georgia were up 5.25% to 1,884p at 10:00 on Wednesday. OH