CIH Bank, which announced in the first quarter of 2017 a net income of MAD 105 million, down 10.7 percent from last year, has issued a profit warning regarding its half-year results.

The management of CIH Bank released a statement Thursday explaining that the bank was subject to a tax audit during the first half of 2017. This tax audit, which has been settled, covers the years 2013 to 2015. Its financial impact was fully included in the results of H1FY17, which fell 30 percent from June 2016.

The bank expects its net income for the first six months of 2017 to decrease by MAD 54.2 million compared to a year before, settling at MAD 126 million against more than 180 million in 2016.

“Despite this non-recurring event, CIH Bank’s management remains confident in the achievement of the commercial and financial objectives of the second half of 2017, thus mitigating the impact of this tax audit on the 2017 annual result,” ensures the bank in its release.

Profit warnings are usually issued two or more weeks before an earnings announcement. Companies do this to soften the blow to investors, giving them, as well as the market, more time to adjust accordingly before the public release, ideally taking some of the sting out of the expected price adjustment.

The first half-year accounts will be approved by the bank’s board of directors on September 6.

Source: Moroccoworldnews