Bank of Georgia shares surge on share buyback, H1 profits up 33.5%

Bank of Georgia on Thursday reported a 33.5% jump in half year profits, driven by a sharp rise in net interest income and also unveiled a share buyback of 62m Georgian lari (GEL).

The bank posted a GEL 688.8m (£207m) profit, adjusted for one-off income compared with GEL 516m a year ago. First-half net interest income rose 39% to GEL 767.8mn. Shares in the company rose 14% on the London Stock Exchange.

Net interest margin, a key measure of profitability and the difference between the rates on savings and loans, rose to 6.5% from 5.3%.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com