Demerara Bank records $2B profit

Oct 18, 2018 News

Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) has announced yet another year of remarkable performance. At just 24 years old, the Bank was able to achieve a net profit of more than $2B “while operating in highly challenging circumstances”.
According to Demerara Bank officials, the financial institution delivered a solid financial performance for all stakeholders, generating an increased gross profit of 31% at $3.127B in 2018 from $2.396B in 2017. The net profit of the bank went up to $2.041B against a profit of $1.599B in the corresponding period of 2017, registering a growth of 28%.
Financial statements also reveal that the Bank maintained focus on providing innovative and superior banking services and its deposit base showed a continuous rise to $58.2B as compared to $57B in 2017. Further to this, the Bank continued expansion of its loan portfolio in several business sectors which drove growth in the advances from $25.46B to G$26.8B.
Officials noted that all commercial banks in Guyana continue to face major difficulties with net non-performing advances; however, Demerara Bank, in the year 2018, recorded reductions from $783M to $672M. The officials said that this is commendable in light of the challenging business environment.
As a result of its solid performance, Demerara Bank has rewarded shareholders with a final dividend payment of 100%, while the interim dividend paid was 35% – the highest ever paid in the history of the Bank.
Additionally, it was noted that the Demerara Bank Limited Profit after tax increased by 20.6% for 2017. The Bank’s Profit before taxation is $2.4 billion, an increase of 19% over the previous year whilst Net Profit rose by 20.6%.
Officials also noted that DBL, being the only indigenous Guyanese Bank and the youngest Bank among all the commercial banks in Guyana, continues to excel despite the challenges of the Banking environment.
The outstanding performances are reflected in the Deposit Base which stands at its highest of $57.0 billion, registering a rise of 7.3% when compared to 2016; this compares favourably to the Banking Sector Deposits which declined by 2.49% at the end of August 2017.
Total Loans and Advances increased from G$24.7 billion to G$25.5 billion, showing a rise of 3.2% over the previous year. Loans and Advances in the Banking Sector for the period September 2016 – August 2017, recorded a marginal increase of just 0.30%. The Investments of the Bank have remained constant at $23.2 billion.
Demerara Bank’s listing of its assets at the close of financial year 2017 totals $70.0 billion compared with $64.0 billion at the end of September 2016. Interest Income on Investments went up from $1.56 billion to $1.66 billion; an increase of 6.3% over the previous year whilst Interest Income on Loans and Advances marginally increased from $2.15 billion to $2.19 billion; a rise of 1.8% over the previous year. . Other Income expanded from $422 million to $988 million during the year, showing a rise of 133.8%. Total Interest Income rose to $3.9 billion; 3.7% higher than 2016.
As a result of the Bank’s solid performance over the past financial year shareholders’ earnings per share has increased by 20.3% to $3.55 per share. The net worth of the Bank has increased from $9.3 billion to $11.0 billion, an increase of 19% over the previous year.
The Bank emphasised that performance over the last financial year was also significantly due to the continued commitment and dedication of its Chairman, Directors of the Board, Management and Staff.

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