Bank of Georgia reports rise in third quarter profit, driven by retail

13th Nov 2013 10:43

- Third quarter profit and revenue rise- Return on average equity reaches target- Expansion of Express banking strategyBank of Georgia Holdings reported a 15.8 per cent rise in third quarter profit to 21m Georgian Lari (GEL) on the back of revenue growth.Revenue was up 8.4% to GEL 31m, as a strong performance in retail banking offset a weakness in corporate banking.Earnings per share jumped 10.4% to a record GEL 4.35, compared to GEL 3.94 a year earlier.Net interest margins fell to 7.7% from 7.8% last year while the cost to income ration improved to 41% from 45.2%.The net loan book increased by 6.2% in the year to date and client deposits increased by 8.7%. Return on average equity (ROAE) stood at 20.6% compared to 19.2% a year earlier. "One of the most noteworthy highlights of the quarter is our ROAE that has reached our target level of 20% on the back of diversified revenue growth, further expansion of our Express banking strategy and ongoing cost optimisation measures across all the businesses," said Chief Executive Officer, Irakli Gilauri.The Express banking strategy includes the roll out of 893 Express Pay terminals and 362,829 Express cards.The group also rolled out its healthcare facilities in the first half of 2013.Aldagi, the company's healthcare and insurance subsidiary, delivered a record quarterly profit of GEL 6.9m in the third quarter of the year and the business remains firmly on track to achieve its targeted GEL 25m profit for the full year."During the first nine months of 2013 Aldagi has more than doubled its profits and, with further strong growth expected over the next few years, the Group may consider a public offering of Aldagi's business in the near future," Gilauri noted. Shares were up 1.62% to 2,134p at 11:11 on Wednesday.RD