Berhan Bank’s Annual Profit Drops 52.3%: Report

ADDIS ABABA – Berhan Bank, one of the mid-sized private banks in Ethiopia, reported a profit before tax of 337.6 million birr in the financial year ended on June 30, 2021.

The figure has shown a 52.3% drop as compared to the previous year, during which Berhan scored a 707.4 million birr profit.

“The major reasons for the decline is the significant amount of provisional expense held for non-performing loans and guarantee claims,” said Bethlehem Getachew, acting president of the bank, in a message she wrote to shareholders.

Last week, Berehan Bank S.C. held its the shareholders general ordinary meeting where they heard the bank’s the 2020/21 annual performance report.

Bethelehem said the 2020/21 financial year was a challenging year for the financial industry due to economic and political uncertainties in the country as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Commendable Results’

Despite that, the acting president said Berhan bank has “managed to achieve commendable results” in many key performance indicators.

According to the bank’s annual report, Berhan’s deposit reached 21.7 billion birr in the 2020/21 financial year, showing a 30.7% increase from the prior year’s position.

The number of deposit customers has also shown a 46.9% growth and surpassed the 11 million mark.

According to the report, the bank’s loan stock grew by 40.1% to reach 17.8 billion birr while its total asset reached 26.9 billion birr after registering a 26.1% increase as compared to the previou year.

The bank also reported its total capital increased by 9.4% reaching 3.7 billion Birr while the paid up capital grew by 18.6% to reach 2.9 billion Birr.

During the past fiscal year, the Bank has opened 30 new branches, pushing its total branch network to 261.