SDB bank records Rs. 909 mn profit in 2021, growth of 9%
SDB bank has achieved outstanding financial results during 2021, amidst an unprecedentedly challenging economic environment. Total profits for the year ended December 31, 2021 stood at Rs 909 million, recording a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 9%, while profit for the fourth quarter of the year was recorded at Rs 159 million.
Net interest income grew by 11% YoY, to Rs 6.774 billion, while total operating income grew by 9% YoY to reach Rs 7.4 billion. SDB bank’s loan book too showed robust growth, expanding by 9% against the year prior to Rs 111.89 billion, while a total of Rs 65 billion was disbursed through 98,185 accounts during the year.
Net NPL (Non-Performing Loans) Ratio also witnessed positive change, improving to 1.49% in 2021, against 1.79% in 2020, due to improved provisioning during the period. SDB bank’s Total Assets also grew healthily by 15% in the year under review to Rs 147.8 billion, while the Deposit Portfolio expanded marginally by 1% YoY.
Discussing the Bank’s robust financial performance, acting CEO at SDB bank Niranjan Thangarajah said, “We have focused heavily on our core SME and MSME customers during the year, with special emphasis on women owned and led enterprises, in line with our drive towards inclusive banking. The exceptional planning and strategy devised by our senior management team has proven to be effective during the year, while we also benefited from the rescinding of pandemic related restrictions.”
“Furthermore, our commitment to working together with our customers in mutual partnership, placed us in an excellent position to detect early warning signs of financial distress, and helped us guide our customers towards making the right decisions. This is reflected in our expanding loan portfolio, coupled with shrinking NPLs. In 2022, we look forward to building on the achievements we have made in 2021.”
2021 also saw SDB bank conduct a Secondary Public Offering (SPO), which received exceptional interest from investors, enjoying a hefty oversubscription on the opening date of the issue. In line with SDB bank’s 4-year strategic growth plan, 2021 also saw the bank focus heavily on the SME sector, female entrepreneurship, driving sustainability both financially and environmentally and aggressively push digital banking across Sri Lanka, staying true to its commitment to take inclusive digital banking to the masses.