ATB Turns the Page on 2023 and Gets Off to a Strong Start in 2024

The African Trade Bank (ATB) has turned the page on 2023 and is off to a strong start in 2024. In the first quarter of this year, the credit institution recorded a 9.9% increase in net banking income (PNB) to 90,658 million dinars, driven by a 41.2% annual increase in interest margin to 54,590 million dinars. The bank has benefited from both the improvement in interest income and the decrease in interest expenses, leading to this strong performance.

However, net commissions decreased by 5.6% to 16,799 million dinars. We believe this is due to the imposition of free banking services by the Central Bank. Net income from the commercial and investment portfolio also decreased by 25.9% to 19,269 million dinars, which depends on repayments during the period. This item can only be correctly evaluated over the entire exercise.

Compared to the same period in 2023, customer deposits increased by 345,176 million dinars to 6,199,383 million dinars. The increase is mainly due to sight deposits (+171,597 million dinars), a free resource for the bank. As for loans, they increased by 178,787 million dinars to 5,344,122 million dinars.

If we look at the figures compared to December 2023, we notice a stability in loan outstandings against a decline in deposits of 149,700 million dinars. In our opinion, this is linked to the cleaning up of the balance sheet following the increase in risks last year. It is pointless to keep clients who are remunerated for their deposits but ultimately contribute to absorbing profits through provisions.

The bank has relatively controlled its operating expenses, which increased by 5.1% to 56,728 million dinars, a slower pace than inflation.

The 2024 exercise is a challenge for ATB, which aims to achieve a strong performance to take revenge after the punctual increase in risk costs last year. The current valuation of the title on the market offers an interesting entry point for those who like to play recovery stories.