Earnings per share up 17.6 per cent at Bank of Georgia Holdings

Earnings per share rose 17.6 per cent over the full year at Bank of Georgia, the FTSE 250-listed holding bank of JSC Bank of Georgia and its subsidiaries, to GEL 5.22 (£2.04).

Year-on-year revenue rose 14.9% to GEL 498.3m (£192.4m) and in the fourth quarter of 2012, revenue was up 15.5% against the corresponding period in 2011.

Pre-tax profit for continuing operations rose 23.7% and profit for the period increased 32.2% to GEL 43.8m (£17.1m).

Commenting on the year ahead, Irakli Gilauri, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Georgia Holdings PLC and JSC Bank of Georgia, said: "In 2013, we do not expect any changes to the fundamentals of our business strategy. We intend to continue to focus on the Georgian market, with retail banking and corporate banking continuing to drive profitability.

"The full effects of our recent scaling up of the business are still to be realised, as more customers shift to electronic channels. The introduction of a sophisticated CRM [Content Relationship Management] system will further enhance product penetration and boost revenues per client, thus further improving our efficiency."

MF