NBK net profit hits $514m, up 12pc
Kuwait, July 16, 2014
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has reported $514 million in net profits for the first half of the year, as compared to $456 million for the same period last year, a year-on-year rise of 12.6 per cent.
The NBK Group’s total assets reached $71.1 billion at the end of June, up 11.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, while total shareholder’s equity increased 5.3 per cent year-on-year to $8.9 billion, said a statement.
The bank’s customer loans and advances were $40 billion at the end of June, growing at 9.6 per cent year-on-year, while customer deposits grew 7.7 per cent for the same period to reach $38.7 billion, it said.
The NBK asset quality remained strong with non-performing loans (NPL)/gross loans improving to 1.81 per cent at the end of June and NPL coverage reaching 229.6 per cent.
Isam Al-Sager, group CEO, said: “With net profits growing at 12.6 per cent year-on-year, NBK continues delivering solid results. NBK’s conservative management practices and its strong financial position helped the bank sustain its profitability and resilient market position”.
The operating environment in Kuwait continues to show strong signs of improvement reflecting a pickup in economic activity and accordingly better banking sector performance, he pointed out.
“There is a noticeable improvement in the process of tendering, award and execution of the large infrastructure projects, which has also reflected positively on the overall private sector sentiment and accordingly on banks’ credit growth. This is a trend we hope will continue.” Al-Sager said.
Regionally, the performance of NBK’s international and regional operations continued to deliver healthy performance, emphasising the bank’s position as a leading regional bank, he said. NBK’s international operations contributed 23 per cent to the group’s profits despite the ongoing political challenges is some of the locations during the first half of the year.
NBK’s international reach cover 170 branches worldwide, spanning leading financial centres including London, Paris, Geneva, New York, Singapore and Shanghai. Meanwhile, regional coverage extends to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey. - TradeArabia News Service
