UBL declared Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs15.8 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, which represents an increase of 30% in the bottom line.
Earnings per Share (EPS) was measured at Rs7.78 (Q1’21: Rs. 6.05). The Bank maintained the healthy payouts to its shareholders with the first dividend of the year declared at Rs5.0 per share. UBL’s capital base remains strong as the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 21.7% as at Mar’22, an excess of 9.2% over regulatory minimum requirements.
The Bank’s gross revenues stood at Rs28.3 billion, growing by 25%, driven by the buildup in the deposit base over last year, healthy loan growth and well positioned investment portfolio. Non-markup income was recorded at Rs6.8 billion for Q1’22, up 17% as all major fee based revenues depicted a solid pick up in business with strong growth in foreign exchange flows. The cost to income ratio further improved to 42% from 44% last year. Provisioning expense remained controlled with enhanced risk vigilance and strong focus on recoveries across both domestic and international.
UBL remains one of largest private banks in Pakistan with a branch network of 1,340 branches spread across both urban and rural geographies and 1,439 ATMs across the country. The physical network is well supported by the industry’s leading Digital Banking services and our branchless banking proposition UBL Omni which serves even in the remotest locations across Pakistan. Our strength is an increasing and diverse customer base nationwide, as we continue to build on our agenda of financial inclusion and providing access to finance across all segments of society. Domestic deposits averaged Rs. 1.5 trillion for Q1’22, with strong growth of 11% in current accounts and a very profitable CASA ratio of 88%. The Bank continues to expand its customer base, particularly within current deposits, as it on-boarded 162,000 new current account relationships in the first quarter.
UBL remains an active participant in all the major economic initiatives of the Government of Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). We are one of the key partners in the SBP’s Roshan Digital initiative, having opened over 78,000 accounts, with inflows of over USD 532 million. The Bank continues to play its role in the “Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar” initiative, with disbursements of Rs3.5 billion. Furthermore, we are at the forefront of the Kamyab Jawab program, with disbursements over Rs2.5 billion, supporting the needs of upcoming young entrepreneurs all across Pakistan.
The Bank’s award winning and industry leading digital services envision a better service proposition for all banking customers, with ease and convenience never seen before in the financial sector. The key pillars of the Bank’s digital strategy is to create a consistent experience across all touchpoints and to add enabling platforms over time. We seek to evolve with the ever changing requirements and expectations of our customers as we scale into a wider payments ecosystem. Our payments throughput from ‘UBL Digital’, our mobile app, were recorded at Rs. 1.7 trillion last year, and with a growing customer base, we have already crossed Rs531 billion in Q1’22, a growth of 56%. These volumes clearly indicate the future business potential through digital penetration, being one of the largest banks in Pakistan. We are seeking to redefine the financial landscape with our futuristic mindset, innovative ideas and well directed capital allocation towards new technologies.
