National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has reported a net profit of KD282.2 million ($929.7 million) for 2015, up 7.8 per cent over KD261.8 million ($862.6 million) the year before.

As at year-end 2015, NBK’s group total assets reached KD23.6 billion ($77.8 billion) up 8.3 per cent compared to year-end 2014, while total shareholders’ equity increased by 3.8 per cent to KD2.6 billion ($8.6 billion).

Announcing the results at the annual General Assembly meeting, chairman Nasser Al Sayer said the results reaffirm the bank’s well established and solid financial position and its leadership in the Kuwaiti banking sector.

"2015 was a year of deliverables for NBK. We saw a confirmation of our earlier view that Kuwait is moving into a new era of economic development. Activity is picking up as the government continues to deliver on the awarding and execution of mega projects," stated Al Sayer.

"This has reflected positively on the growth trends of NBK’s operating income. During the year, several multi-billion dollar development projects have been awarded where NBK played a major role in their financing. With the size of our balance sheet, our regional & international presence and relationships, we are the largest beneficiary of the growing government expenditure, leveraging the high growth opportunity in the project finance business," he added.

According to him, NBK continued its strategy to strengthen its position in Mena markets with a particular focus on the GCC markets that are characterised by their strong economic scope and promising growth opportunities.

Isam Al Sager, the group chief executive said NBK continued to achieve a strong performance in 2015 thanks to the bank’s financial resilience, clear strategy, conservative culture, and high professional standards.

The net profit once again confirms the superiority of the bank’s conservative strategy, prudent risk management and commitment to the highest standards. Strong growth across business lines proved the effectiveness of the Bank’s sound and solid leadership," he added.

In parallel with its regional strategy, NBK continued to reap the benefits from its acquisition of 58.4 per cent of Boubyan Bank.

“A fundamental change in Boubyan Bank has been witnessed in growth and profitability trends, continuously increasing its market share since its acquisition by NBK. NBK will continue its strategy to support Boubyan Bank by providing the bank with expertise and guidance. NBK is fully committed to the independence of the two banks according to the provisions of Shari’a law,” said Al Sager.

The General Assembly gave approval to NBK to increase its authorised capital from KD504 million to KD600 million ($1.67 billion to $1.99 billion). The approved increase in authorized capital gives NBK the flexibility to increase its paid-in-capital at a later stage, if needed.

"This will allow the bank to better manage the timing of any potential increase in paid-in-capital to continue capturing growth opportunities, especially in Kuwait as the government’s capital spending plan remains intact," he added.

The AGM also saw the board approve cash dividends equivalent to 30 per cent of the nominal value of the share (30 fils per share) to the shareholders of the bank.

The AGM also approved the distribution of bonus shares of 5 per cent (5 shares for every 100 shares) to the shareholders as of the last working day prior to the day of the share price adjustment.-TradeArabia News Service