Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company (Bahrain Credit) has reported a net profit of BD12.3 million ($32.6 million) for last year, 41 per cent higher than BD8.7 million earned in 2011.

Profit for the fourth quarter of last year was BD2.8 million, as compared to BD2.5 million for 2011, said a company statement. The board of the company has recommended a cash dividend of 40 per cent for the year, compared to 35 per cent for 2011.

"The remarkable performance is very pleasing and testament to a robust business model," chairman Abdulrahman Fakhro said.

"The world economies are stressed, regional difficulties remain and in difficult conditions all the company's business segments have continued to exceed market expectations," he said.

The company's consumer finance business, Bahrain Credit, achieved a net profit of BD6.7 million, compared to BD5.7 million for 2011, our sister newspaper, the Gulf Daily News reported.

Bahrain Credit has underwritten new loans of BD87 million, with its core product, vehicle finance continuing to play a pivotal role. The company's latest product, the Imtiaz credit card is now a major player in this very competitive market segment.

Bahrain Credit continued its conservative underwriting policies and further improved portfolio quality.

Another group entity, National Motor Company, has reported earnings of BD3.5 million, compared to BD2.4 million in 2011. It reaped the benefit of a sharp turnaround in the automotive market coupled with the exciting new products provided by the principals. It is satisfying to note that the strategic capital investments in upgrading facilities and continued service improvements are translating into higher levels of customer satisfaction, the statement added.

The company's real estate division, T'asheelat Real Estate Services Company, has reported net profit of BD1.6 million, as compared to BD85,000 in 2011. T'asheelat Real Estate said through the Saar Land project, it has been successful in fulfilling the aspirations of Bahrainis for affordable housing and more such projects will be evaluated on an on-going basis.

T'asheelat Insurance Services Company achieved net profit of BD544,000, compared with BD494,000 in 2011. It is amongst the first insurance brokers to fully comply with the new requirements of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The group continues to maintain a strong and healthy liquidity position and has recently replaced a maturing $75 million loan with a new three-year $100 million syndicated loan facility. The group has a comfortable leverage facilitating the expansion and growth plans.

"The 2012 financial results in the context of challenging economic conditions are remarkable. The financial position of the company remains solid," group chief executive Adel Hubail said.

"We now have a strategic plan for the next three years, our vision for the company is clear and even if the road ahead might be rocky due to circumstances beyond our control, our business model will remain resilient," he said. – TradeArabia News Service