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Farouk Almoayyed and Jean-Christophe Durand

NBB Q4 net profit up 21.3pc to $48.4m

MANAMA, February 12, 2020

National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced strong financial results for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2019, marked by a 21.3% increase in its net profits to BD18.2 million ($48.4 million), compared to BD15 million ($39.9 million) in Q4, 2018. 
 
The increase in net profit was attributed to a growth in operating income of 6.9% and a lower provision charge of BD0.1 million compared to BD3.1 million for the same period in 2018. 
 
Basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter stand at 12 fils compared with 10 fils in 2018. 
 
Total comprehensive income for the fourth quarter increased by 153.7% to BD27.4 million ($72.9 million) compared with BD10.8 million ($28.7 million) for the same period last year due to higher mark-to-market gains on investment securities classified as fair value through other comprehensive income, the bank said.
 
Operating income for the fourth quarter increased by 6.9% to BD30.9 million in Q4 2019 compared to BD28.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
 
NBB reported a 6% increase in its net profit to BD74.2 million ($197.4 million) for the year ending December 31, 2019, compared to BD70 million in 2018. The increase in net profit was due to a healthy year-on-year growth in operating income of 7.2% and a well maintained cost-to-income ratio of 35.9% in 2019 compared to 35.6% in 2018 despite the bank’s ongoing investments in human capital and technology to support its transformation strategy. 
 
Basic and diluted earnings per share during the year increased by 6.5% to 49 fils  compared with 46 fils in 2018. 
 
Total comprehensive income for the year increased by 36.6% to BD91 million  compared with BD66.6 million in 2018, attributable to higher mark-to-market gains on investment securities classified as fair value through other comprehensive income. 
 
Operating income for the year increased by 7.2% to BD125.8 million compared with BD117.4 million in 2018.
 
The bank’s total shareholders’ equity grew by 11.9% to BD532.3 million compared with BD475.8 million as of December 31, 2018. 
 
Total assets stood at BD3,194.5 million ($8,496 million) as at December 31, 2019 in line with the December 31, 2018 level. Total loans and advances increased by 2% to BD1,213.7 million compared with BD1,190.1 million recorded as of December 31, 2018. 
 
Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed, Chairman of NBB, stated: “On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce another year of record results for NBB. I am proud to say that NBB continues to grow with our profitability increasing by 6.0% in 2019 in comparison to 2018 which is a result of our focus towards introducing value-adding services and growing our network, as evidenced by NBB securing a share in multiple national projects.”
 
“We are proud of what we have achieved in 2019 and we are confident that our efforts for the new year will allow us to continue to achieve improved results and greater value for our shareholders. On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the Board, the leadership of our management team and the hard work and dedication of our employees who have collectively driven the bank towards another successful year,” concluded Almoayyed.
 
Jean-Christophe Durand, Chief Executive Officer of NBB, said: “We have successfully achieved a 6.9% growth in operating income in the fourth quarter and 7.2% for the twelve months in comparison to 2018, despite the challenging economic conditions. 
 
“In the past year we have witnessed major transformation for NBB including the launch of our new identity and our brand promise ‘Closer to You’, which has been our drive for 2019. The deployment of pioneering applications, some of which derive from our commitment and close partnership with the Fintech industry, have given NBB a leading edge in areas such as Open Banking, for which the bank was the first institution to launch in Bahrain. Digital is becoming a way of life for us and for our customers.  A complete overhaul of our branch network, epitomised by the launch of our flagship Seef branch, has re-energised our engagement with our walk-in clients,” he said.  
 
“NBB will continue to move forward in 2020 introducing more tailor-made services and products for our customers,” he added. -TradeArabia News Service
 



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