United Bank Limited (UBL) reported a net profit of Rs 9.394 billion for the quarter ended March 31, followed by Meezan Bank with Rs 9.2 billion profit and HBL reported a net profit of Rs 8.614 billion.
As per the financial results, the bank’s profit stood at Rs.9.39 billion from January to March 2022 against Rs.7.58 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2021, an increase of Rs.1.8 billion or 23 percent.
UBL has outshined Habib Bank Limited with regard to profitability after many years.
Moreover, the increase in earnings was because of a hike in total income and a decline in provisioning. The bank reported a total income of Rs 29.13, a growth of 22.6 percent as compared to Rs 23.76 billion.
UBL has reported a profit of Rs.9.3 billion as compared to HBL, which recorded a profit of Rs 8.6 billion during the first quarter of 2022. The profit before tax of UBL stood at Rs 15.7 billion compared to HBL’s Rs 14.6 billion.
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The net interest income of UBL was recorded at Rs 22.36 billion, showing an increase of 28 percent compared to Rs 17.50 billion.
Last year, UBL earned a profit of Rs 30.5 billion and remained in its third position in terms of profitability throughout the industry and in contrast, HBL earned an annual profit of Rs 35.5 billion and remained the most profitable bank in the country.
UBL reported a 47 percent year-on-year profit growth in 2021 as compared to HBL’s annual profit growth of 15 percent year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2022, UBL’s profit growth stood at 23 percent, while HBL’s profit growth stood at less than one percent.
It can be concluded that the competition between these two banks may be strengthened in the coming months.
Meanwhile, UBL’s earnings per share also grew from Rs 6.21 to Rs 7.58. The board of directors declared the interim cash dividend of Rs 5 per share.
