The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for the first quarter of 2021 has posted a profit of Ghs 26.8 million.
The recorded profit for the first quarter represents a 100 percent year-on-year increment in profit from the Ghs 13.3 million recorded for the same period last year.
ADB’s profit growth for Q1 2021, was supported by increases in the bank’s net interest income and operating income.
Net interest income for end-March 2021 amounted to Ghs 118 million from the end-March 2020 figure of Ghs 97 million.
Operating income for end-March 2021, also amounted to Ghs 146 million from the end-March 2020 figure of Ghs 126 million.
The Ghs 26.8 million profit recorded for Q1 2021, translates into dividend payments of Ghs 10.27 pesewas for shareholders.
With regards to the bank’s assets for the first quarter, the bank saw its assets value surge to Ghs 5.8 billion from the Ghs 4.7 billion recorded same period last year – an increase of Ghs 1.1 billion on a year-on-year basis.
Increment in the bank’s investment securities as well as loans and advances to customers, accounted for the increase in assets value. As the bank’s holdings of investment securities increased to Ghs 2.1 billion end-March 2021, from Ghs 1.6 billion end-March 2020.
Loans and advances to customers for the period under review increased from Ghs 1.4 billion in 2020 to Ghs 1.9 billion in 2021.
With the year-on-year increment in assets value, investors would have wanted that the bank reduce its liabilities, but the bank’s liabilities increased by more than Ghs 1 billion from end-March 2020 to end-March 2021.
Total liabilities end-March 2021 amounted to Ghs 4.9 billion from Ghs 3.9 billion at end-March 2020.
ADB improved its asset quality cutting down Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) as a ratio of gross loans to 32.94 percent from 41.04 percent in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
The bank also reduced its loan loss provision from 23.34 percent in 2020 to 17.53 percent in 2021.
