Most banks' EPS see higher growth in H1

Earnings per share (EPS) of 73 per cent listed banks increased in first half (H1) of January-June 2019 period compared to the same period of the previous year.

EPS is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. In short, it serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.

According to the un-audited financial statements for January-June 2019 period, the consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of the 23 banks rose out of 30. Six banks' EPS fell while one bank's EPS remained negative.

Market insiders said most banks' EPS rose in January-June 2019 period due to increase in operating profit and decrease of required provision against loans and advances.

As per the unaudited financial statement, Exim Bank posted the highest growth by 331 per cent in the first half of 2019 to Tk 0.56 in January-June 2019, up from Tk 0.13 in the same period a year ago.

The IFIC Bank's consolidated EPS also soared 159 per cent to Tk 1.01 for January-June 2019, which was Tk 0.39 in the January-June 2018, the DSE data shows.

The First Security Islami Bank's consolidated EPS also jumped 126 per cent to Tk 0.95 for January-June 2019 compared to the same period a year ago.

Uttara Bank's EPS also rose 85 per cent to Tk 2.50 for January-June 2019, from Tk 1.35 in the same period a year ago, followed by Trust Bank.

The Trust Bank's EPS jumped 81 per cent to Tk 1.77 in January-June 2019, against Tk 0.98 in the same period in the previous year.

The Southeast Bank's EPS also rose 64 per cent year-on-year to Tk 2.25 in January-June 2019, which was Tk 1.37 in the same period a year ago.

The Southeast Bank noted that EPS increased as compare to the last year same period due to increase in operating profit and decrease of required provision against loans and advances and provision for investment in shares.

The EPS of Al-Arafah Islami Bank , The City Bank, Dutch Bangla Bank, Eastern Bank, Islami Bank, Jamuna Bank, Mercantile Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, NCC Bank, ONE Bank, Premier Bank, Pubali Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, SIBL, UCB, Uttara Bank and Prime Bank also rose in January-June 2019 compared to the same period a year ago, the DSE data shows.

On the other hand, AB Bank saw the highest fall in EPS by 61 per cent to Tk 0.15 for January-June 2019, which was Tk 0.39 in the same period last year.

The EPS of BRAC Bank, National Bank, Rupali Bank and Standard Bank also fell between 4.0 per cent and 29 per cent during the period under review.

Meanwhile, the ICB Islami Bank saw lower losses in January-June 2018 period. The bank's EPS stood at negative Tk 0.29 in January-June 2019 which was negative Tk 0.31 in January-June 2018.

DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell 36 points or 0.66 per cent in the first six months of 2019.

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