Byblos Bank’s Profits Rose by 2.9% y-o-y to $170M in Q4 2017

The consolidated financial statements of Byblos Bank revealed a 2.9% annual uptick in Byblos Bank’s profits in the second half of 2017 (H2 2017), which ended the year at $170M.

According to the bank’s official statement, this growth is mainly attributed to:  “Byblos Bank’s strategy for maintaining high liquidity levels to mitigate the effects of unpredictable shocks, and [the Board of Directors’ full commitments] to their conservative strategy […] by focusing on maintaining asset quality and protecting capital.” However, the report forecasts the banking sector’s profitability in 2018 to diminish, in light of the newly-introduced banks’ “double-taxation”.

In fact, Byblos Bank’s income statement revealed that Net gain from financial instruments at fair value and Net gain on financial assets at amortized costs both decreased by 39.51% y-o-y and 91.33% y-o-y to reach $32.14M and $24.04M,respectively.

The banks’ balance sheet showed that Total assets grew by an annual 5.21% to reach $22.66B in Q4 2017. Moreover, Customer loans increased by 9.12% y-o-y, to stand at $5.43B. On the liabilities side, Customers’ deposits showed a yearly rise of 9.59% by the end of 2017, to $17.75B, while Shareholders’ equity also climbed by 4.18% y-o-y to end the year at $1.88B.

Byblos Bank’s Financial Highlights in Q4 2017

(in USD Millions)31-Dec-1731-Dec-16Y-o-Y
Total Assets           22,661.70           20,768.235.21%
Net Loans and advances to customers at amortized cost              5,434.82              5,165.699.12%
Total Liabilities           20,782.32           18,964.305.28%
Customers’ Deposits at amortized cost           17,749.73           16,859.469.59%
Total Shareholders’ Equity              1,879.39              1,803.944.18%
Profit for the year                 170.12                 165.332.90%


Source: Byblos Bank, Beirut Stock Exchange

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