Kuwait-based Burgan Bank Group has reported net income of KD 68 million ($222 million) for 2016, up 12 per cent from KD61 million reported in the previous year.

Earnings per share stood at 28 fils, up by 15 per cent from 25 fils in 2015 (excluding the discontinued operations resulting from the sale of Jordan Kuwait bank in December 2015). The Board of Directors have recommended a cash dividend of 5 per cent and 5 per cent in bonus shares.

Adjusted for foreign currencies devaluation and one-offs , core revenues for FY2016 reached KD236 million mirroring 8 per cent Year-on-year growth. Loans and advances to customers grew by 7 per cent reaching KD4.3 billion.

Also year-on-year, non-performing assets ratio net of collateral drops to 1 per cent with coverage ratio net of collaterals reaching 407 per cent. Basel 3 Capital Adequacy Ratio stands at 16.7 per cent at the end of December 31, 2016.

Majed Essa Al Ajeel, chairman of Burgan Bank Group said: "As planned and expected, Burgan Bank Group’s resilient business model has proven successful in weathering the heavy headwinds stemming from regulatory changes, low interest rates and  investments, markets volatility and geopolitical risks. “

“Looking at the full financial year set of results; we can comfortably conclude that Burgan Bank Group true performance driven by high quality earnings remains solid. Although the KD68 million reported net income shows a growth of 12 per cent from the previous year, for accurate analysis, the true net income achieved in 2016 stood at KD70 mirroring a growth of 23 per cent from 2015 when normalized for a like-to-like comparison by eliminating the non-repetitive items such as FX gains and others. This true performance reflects the quality of earnings generated by Burgan Bank engines without any dependence on unusual gains and one-offs.”

"It is also worth noting that such solid performance is delivered after booking KD24 million in precautionary reserves for the full year, KD9 million of which was booked in the fourth quarter alone, a quarter that is considered one of the strongest quarters in terms of performance over the last 3 years with a net income reaching KD28.6 million excluding precautionary reserves” commented Al-Ajeel.

“We are confident and proud that our solid business performance, optimized operating efficiencies and rigorous risk management have enabled us to build a strong and resilient franchise.”

“On behalf of the board, I take this opportunity to thank our customers and shareholders for their confidence in our capabilities and our regulators; the Central Bank of Kuwait, for their support. I would also like to thank our executive management team for their leadership and the excellent execution of the corporate strategy, and to our staff for their continued support and commitment," concluded Al Ajeel.

The consolidated financials encompass the results of the Group’s operations in Kuwait, and its share from its regional subsidiaries, namely Burgan Bank – Turkey, Gulf Bank Algeria, Bank of Baghdad, Tunis International Bank. Burgan Bank Group has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 180 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and representative offices in Dubai, UAE. – TradeArabia News Service