TBC Bank witnesses record high profitability in Q2

Georgan bank TBC Bank said on Wednesday that it had seen record high profitability in the second quarter of its trading year, driven by strong revenue generation and improved performance on its asset quality side.

TBC Bank said pre-tax profits had surged 70.9% quarter-on-quarter to GEL 290.78m (£68.5m), while net interest income was up 7.8% on the previous three months at GEL 242.76m (£57.23m).

In the second quarter, the FTSE 250-listed bank generated GEL 250.4m (£59.03m) in net profit, up 98.4% year-on-year and 63.7% quarter-on-quarter to achieve a record high profitability, driven by a "strong operating performance" across all revenue categories, as well as recoveries in credit loss allowances across all segments.

Operating expenses widened 10.2% to GEL 134.68m (£31.75m) and income tax expenses more than doubled quarter-on-quarter to GEL 40.39m (£9.52m).

Chief executive Vakhtang Butskhrikidze said: "I am delighted to present a strong set of financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2021 on the back of an impressive recovery in the macroeconomic environment.

"Our outstanding performance resulted in solid capital generation, which allowed the board to declare an interim dividend of GEL 1.5 (0.35p) per share payable in second half of September 2021."

As of 0930 BST, TBC shares were down 0.15% at 1,338.0p.