NBB net profit up 11.7pc in Q3
Manama, October 10, 2013
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has reported a net profit of BD13.32 million for the third quarter, up 11.7 per cent when compared to BD11.93 million for the same period last year, said a report.
The Bahrain lender's profit for the first three quarters of the year rose 8.3 per cent to BD40.09 million compared to BD37.03 million for the same period last year, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.
The financial results were approved at the board meeting yesterday under the chairmanship of Farouk Almoayyed.
"The bank continues to focus on long-term sustainable growth and the steady increase in profitability is a result of its ability to quickly adapt to the changing business environment," said chief executive and director Abdul Razak Al Qassim.
"Bahrain's economy is expected to show strong growth this year which will provide additional growth opportunities and we are well positioned to contribute further to the development of the kingdom," he stated
Net interest income for the first nine months of this year was BD43.61 million as against BD46.95 million in the corresponding period last year.
The decrease was largely on account of lack of growth in commercial lending opportunities and reduced returns on surplus liquidity due to low short term interest rates, said the report.
Other income for the period was slightly lower at BD19.71 million as against BD20.54 million for the corresponding previous period, mainly due to lower dividend income on bank's equity investments.
Operating expenses decreased from BD20.62 million in the corresponding previous period to BD20.45 million for the nine-month period this year.
The bank took a voluntary general loan loss provision of BD2.27 million during the current year to further strengthen the overall financial position.
Total earning assets (comprising treasury bills, bank placements, loans and advances and investment securities) as at September 30 were BD2,514.28 million as against BD2,465.18 million during the same period last year.
Customer deposits as on September 30 stood at BD2,118.47 million versus BD2,029.69 million during the same time last year - an increase of 4.4 per cent.
Earnings per share for the nine months were 42.6 fils compared to 39.4 fils for the corresponding period last year.-TradeArabia News Service
