Shares in Bank of Georgia (BGEO) climbed 8 per cent on the release of full-year numbers this week, as the lender unveiled a 32 per cent rise in the bottom line, including a 16.6 per cent rise in the final three months of 2019.
Total equity also grew 5.4 per cent in the final quarter, as decent cost management and strong customer franchise growth kept the return on average equity at 29.9 per cent. On a 12-month basis, the metric was 30 basis points lower at 26.1 per cent, in part due to an increased focus on higher-quality mortgage and small business lending.
Despite rising inflation in the second half of the year – leading interest rates to rise from 6.5 to 9 per cent – the FTSE 250 constituent remains “very positive” on the Georgian economy, thanks in part to the recent drop in corporate income taxes and strong business confidence.
Analysts at Numis upgraded their forecasts on these results, and now expect earnings of 327p a share this year, rising to 371p in 2021.
