Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), a leading Islamic bank in Bahrain, has posted net profits of BD6.1 million ($16 million) for the first nine months of the year, an increase of 117.9 per cent compared to BD2.8 million of the same period of 2014.

The third quarter of the year registered a profit of BD1.7 million, compared to BD1.1 million reported for the same period last year.

Total assets reached BD663.6 million, an increase of 11.2 per cent compared to December 2014 and 2.7 per cent over the second quarter of 2015. Profitability ratios have improved with the return on average assets of 1.3 per cent and return on average equity of 7.6 per cent.

The bank’s financial position remains strong with a liquid asset ratio of 25.3 per cent and capital adequacy ratio of 20.3 per cent, which is well above the regulatory minimum of 12.5 per cent, a statement said.

Dr Ahmed Al Mutawa’a, chairman of KHCB said: “The bank’s excellent results reflect the successful implementation of its strategy to develop new and innovative banking products and services to meet the expectations of its clients and with more focus on reducing the operating expenses but without compromising on efficiency and service quality.”

“The bank continued to maintain robust balance sheet throughout the period with high liquidity and capital adequacy ratios. The performance indicators like Return on average equity stood at 7.6 per cent and earnings per share at 6.25 fils.

“We are confident that the management will achieve the targeted figures for the year by fulfilling the strategy’s key indicators prudently to ensure positive returns to our shareholders,” he added.

Khalil Ismaeel Al Meer, chief executive officer said: “The concentration on maintaining and growing the retail and corporate banking books contributed in achieving this excellent result. We have also launched many consumer finance and Credit Cards campaigns and increased our SME/Tamkeen financing.”
“Our customer deposits continued to grow with a 3 per cent compared to last quarter. During the third quarter, KHCB opened its tenth branch in Isa Town. The bank has also launched its new e-banking application with more secured features and functionalities that meets the needs of both retail and corporate customers”.

“We are planning to open one more branch very soon in line with our expansion strategy and will focus on offering innovative products. Our focus will remain on developing our Human Resources, three of our key management employees have participated in the Leadership Grooming Program which was sponsored by the CBB Waqf Fund and organized by Ivey Business School, and one has attended the Harvard Business School’s Leadership programme,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service