Banque du Caire reports EGP 1bn in net profit in Q1 2021

Bank continues positive business results supported by ambitious plans, strategies it was keen to implement for over 3 years, says Tarek Fayed

Banque du Caire has revealed in its latest financial statements that it achieved a net profit of EGP 1bn during the first quarter (Q1) of 2021.
This reflected a growth rate of 20% compared to the EGP 800m recorded during Q1 of 2020, which the bank said was driven by the rise in net income from the return to EGP 2.5bn in Q1 of 2021, compared to EGP 2.4bn in Q1 of 2020, reflecting a growth rate of 5%.
Meanwhile, the bank reported that net income from fees and commissions increased by 6% to EGP 461m, compared to EGP 433m. This led to a 7% growth in operating revenues to reach EGP 3.1bn in Q1 of 2021, compared to EGP 2.9bn in Q1 of 2020.
Tarek Fayed, Chairperson and CEO of Banque du Caire, said that the continuous growth of the bank's business results are supported by the ambitious expansion plans and strategies pursued by the bank since the beginning of 2018.
This was especially in the field of digital transformation and the expanded culture of electronic payments (e-payments), which had a direct positive impact on the bank's performance.
Fayed said that Banque du Caire's financial indicators showed that it had maintained a strong capital base, as the capital adequacy standard rate reached 15.70%.
The bank achieved a return on average equity at a rate of 23.3%, and a return on average assets of 1.9% by the end of March 2021. Meanwhile, its total assets reached EGP 211bn at the end of 2020, reflecting a growth rate of 3%.
The total loan portfolio for customers and banks also increased by about EGP 1bn to EGP 93.5bn by the end of March 2021. The bank also maintained that it was strengthening its allocations during the current period.
This was with the aim of reducing the potential risks of credit losses related to the negative effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on economic activity. It is evident through the ratio of the expected credit loss allowance to total loans, which increased from 7.3% at the end of 2020 to 7.5% by the end of March 2021.
In this context, the credit portfolio of major companies and banks increased to about EGP 43.7bn by the end of Q1 of 2021.
During the quarter, Banque du Caire played the role of main arranger and marketer of financing in two financing operations with a total participation value of EGP 1.4bn. This was in addition to its role as the main arrangers in two other financing operations, with a total participation share of EGP 2bn.
The bank's small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) portfolio rose to EGP 9bn at the end of March 2021. This was in addition to the increase in the number of business centres and units specialised in serving SME customers to 30 business centres and units throughout the country.
Banque du Caire's retail loan portfolio increased by about EGP 1bn with a growth rate of 2% over fiscal year (FY) 2019/20. The increase brought the total portfolio to about EGP 35.3bn by the end of Q1 of 2021, whilst the microfinance portfolio amounted to EGP 5.5bn.
With regard to the customer deposit portfolio, it achieved a growth of EGP 2bn to reach EGP 165bn by the end of March 2021, as a result of the bank offering a diversified portfolio at competitive interest rates.