ACLEDA Bank Plc, a publicly traded company on the Cambodian Securities Exchange (CSX), reported robust business performance at the close of the third quarter. The bank’s operating profit soared to over 550 billion riel ($133.8 million), an increase of over 13%.
The bank also retained its credit rating of “B+/Stable/B” as appraised by international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
In its recent filing with the CSX, the bank announced that its total sales for Q3 2023 reached 857.79 billion riel ($208.2 million), a 10.46% increase from 776.54 billion riel ($188.49 million) in Q2. Operating revenue also rose from 486.77 billion riel ($118.17 million) to 551.29 billion riel ($133.8 million), marking an increase of 13.25%.
In Channy, president and group managing director of ACLEDA, attributed the growth to soaring customer confidence, which saw deposits climb to 28.5 trillion riel ($6.92 billion) by September 2023 – a rise of 17.24% from the previous year.
“In compliance with regulatory requirements for loan reclassification, and to safeguard against risks impacting customer loans and advances – particularly those stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic – the bank raised its allowance for impairment losses by $5.19 million [21.38 billion riel] compared to the third quarter of 2022,” he stated.
“As a result, the profit attributable to the bank’s owners for Q3 2023 was $39.94 million [165.02 billion riel],” he added.
The bank received confirmation from S&P that it had maintained its “B+/Stable/B” credit rating on November 2. The rating reflects the bank’s robust financial profile, underpinned by substantial capital buffers designed to mitigate economic challenges, including those posed by the pandemic.
The bank credited its strong funding profile to several factors, including a large retail deposit base, comprehensive financial services and its predominant digital and physical presence.
It highlighted the strength of its business network operations and the quality of its capital, emphasising the sustainable development of both the bank and its subsidiaries.
ACLEDA was the first local commercial bank to be listed on the bourse on May 25, 2020, offering 4,344,865 shares at 16,200 riel ($3.93) each. The initial public offering (IPO) raised 70.36 billion riel ($17.08 million) after related costs, resulting in a share premium of 48.24 billion riel ($11.71 million), as per the CSX.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) approved ACLEDA’s request to issue Thai Baht Denominated Subordinated Unsecured Debentures worth THB 3.5 billion ($100 million) in the Thai Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA) on September 13.