Nation Online

NBS Bank profits fall 45 percent

NBS Bank has said its profits for the financial year ended December 31 2012 will be 45 percent lower than last year.

The bank issued the warning to its shareholders in a press statement published in The Nation of December 24 and signed by its company secretary designate Chimwemwe Ngondoma.

Last year, the Malawi stock exchange listed company made a profit of K1.253 billion. This means this year, it has realised about K690 million in profits.

In an interview on Monday, Ngondoma said the drop is mainly due to the shortage of forex.

But National Bank of Malawi (NBM) in a press statement to its shareholders last week said it expects its profits to go up by over 80 percent compared to the same period last year.

The bank’s profits come against the background of a dismal performance of the economy which is tipped to grow by at least 1.9 percent this year.

Earlier this year, government implemented a number of reforms to liberalise the financial sector. The local currency was devalued and floated which experts say has resulted in a number of macroeconomic variables such as inflation and GDP growth rate worsening.