National Bank of Bahrain has reported a 3.2 per cent increase in net profit at BD29.67 million ($78.91 million) for the six months ended June 30 when compared with BD28.74 million for the corresponding period of the previous year.

In a statement yesterday (July 13), the bank said net interest income for the period was BD29.10 million as against BD30.51 million for the corresponding period of the previous year.

The decrease is mainly due to lack of quality lending opportunities in the early part of the year and lower yield on surplus funds as a result of strong domestic liquidity, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Other income for the period increased by 40.1 per cent to BD21.90 million when compared with BD15.63 million for the corresponding period of the previous year, the growth driven by increase in core banking activities, higher investment income and increased dividend on the bank’s equity investments.

NBB said operating expenses continue to be proactively managed with the cost to income ratio showing an improvement from 31.77 per cent in the previous year to 29.53 per cent for the current year.

The bank took a loan loss provision of BD6.27 million during the current year based on an assessment of the loan portfolio and to further strengthen the overall financial position.

Earnings per share for the six months improved to 28.6 fils compared to 27.8 fils for the corresponding period last year.

For the second quarter ended June 30, the bank has reported an increase of 4.4 per cent in net profit at BD12.65 million when compared to BD12.12 million for the corresponding period of the previous year.

The bank’s board at a meeting yesterday, led by deputy chairman Dr Essam Abdulla Fakhro, approved the financial results.

Dr Fakhro reiterated the board’s commitment to continue to meet the expectations of all stakeholders.

The bank’s chief executive and director Abdul Razak Al Qassim said the results were encouraging and a positive trend in all business areas, particularly loan growth, had been seen.

“We hope the growth momentum in the overall market will continue and our strong capital and liquidity position places us in an advantageous position to further enhance our leadership position in the domestic market,” he added.

The bank said core business continues to show steady growth with total earning assets (comprising treasury bills, bank placements, loans and advances, investment securities and investment in associates) at BD2,731.20 million as on June 30 this year, as against BD2,718.79 million as on June 30 last year.

Loans and advances have grown by 8.3 per cent to BD923.27 million as seen on June this year when compared with the figure for June-end last year.

Customer deposits also continue to show steady growth and saw an increase of 2.3 per cent to BD2,227.68 million as on June 30 this year, when compared with BD2,177.56 million as on June 30 last year. - TradeArabia News Service