Manama | March 15, 2020
Al Baraka Bank Algeria, one of the banking units of Al Baraka Banking Group BSC (ABG), has achieved a significant growth in its net income of 23% during the year 2019, compared to 2018.
The Bank's financial results for the year 2019 showed that the Bank achieved 12% growth in total operating income to reach 13 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 115 million) due to the growth of the documentary credit business and the expansion of the products and services provided. After deducting all operating expenses, the net operating income increased by 14% to reach 9.5 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 80 million) in 2019 compared to 2018. The net income reached 6.33 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 53 million) during the year 2019, an increase of 23% compared to 2018.
The Bank's financial results also showed that the assets amounted to 261 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 2.2 billion) at the end of December 2019, a slight decrease of 3% compared to the year 2018, due to the decline to the developments in the country. Deposits decreased by 5% to reach 214 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 1.8 billion) in 2019, compared to 2018. The amount of financing and investments amounted to 154 billion Algerian dinars (US$ 1.3 billion) at the end of December 2019, a slight decrease of 1% compared with December 2018. While the total shareholders 'equity increased by 14% to reach 26.2 billion Algerian dinars (US $ 220 million) at the end of December 2019 compared to the year 2018.
On this occasion, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Baraka Bank Algeria and President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, expressed his pleasure with these results, praising the great efforts made by the executive management and all employees to achieve them. He indicated that the Bank has achieved during the past period outstanding successes and great achievements, with sustainable growth in business, profitability and market share. The Bank today ranks among the top list of private banks and the share of foreign trade financing for Algeria. Besides that, the Bank is the first Islamic banks in Algeria that provided great services to Algerian economy and society."
Mr. Adnan also extended his heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Buray Mohand on the occasion of his appointment to the Board of Directors of Al Baraka Bank Algeria as a representative of the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank, and his assumption of the position of Vice-Chairman of the Board in the Bank. He also extended his thanks and appreciation to his predecessor Mr. Boualam Jabbar for his rich and fruitful contributions throughout the period Membership in the Board of Directors.
For his part, Mr. Mohamed Seddik Hafid, Board Member & General Manager of the Bank stated that the Bank, thanks to its capital and human capabilities, was able to maximize its benefit from the available financing and investment opportunities and continues to achieve good results by providing excellent banking services and products through its 31 branches in the main cities in Algeria.
He added that the Bank has put in place a strategy for digital transformation of both customer services and the internal processes, including using robotics and artificial intelligence. In line with its long experience accumulated during previous years, the Bank has achieved good growth in foreign trade financing business that exceeded budget estimates.
The Bank also received the Best Islamic Bank Award in Algeria 2019 for the sixth consecutive year from Global Finance magazine.
About Al Baraka
Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. ("ABG") is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and NasdaqDubai. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion.
The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 17 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka Banking Group has operations in Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and Germany, in addition two branches in Iraq and two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.
ABG and its Units offer retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$ 2.5 billion.
ABG is rated BB (long term) / B (short term) by Standard & Poor's and BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) by Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA). IIRA has also rated ABG on the national scale at A+ (bh) / A2 (bh) with a fiduciary score of 81-85, the highest level amongst Islamic Financial Institutions in the region.