National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has posted a net profit of BD36.79 million ($97.85 million) for the first six months (H1) of the year compared to BD31.74 million ($84.41 million) for H1 2017, marking an increase of 15.9 per cent.

These results were achieved due to strong improvement in net interest income linked to growth in loans and advances and improved net interest margin on the back of better asset liability management, a bank statement said.

Provisions were also significantly lower than the corresponding period for 2017, further contributing to the overall rise in net profits. For the second quarter of 2018, the Bank recorded a Net Profit of BD17.05 million ($45.35 million) compared to BD17.00 million ($45.21 million) for the corresponding period of the previous year.

Other financial highlights for first half of 2018:

•    Operating Profit of BD38.06 million ($101.22 million), growth of 9.5 per cent y-o-y [excluding certain one-off income of BD3.26 million ($8.67 million) in the previous year].
•    Net Interest Income increases 17.6 per cent y-o-y to BD41.09 million ($109.28million).
•    Other Income up 16.0 per cent (excluding certain one-off income in the previous year) y-o-y to BD17.88 million ($47.55 million) resulting from stronger general income in business and a higher share of profit from the Bank’s investment in associates.  
•    Total Operating Costs of BD20.91 million ($55.61 million) compared to BD15.61 million ($41.52 million) reflecting the Bank’s planned and ongoing investment in people and technology in line with its new business strategy.
•    Net impairment loss significantly lower at BD1.27 million ($3.38 million) compared to BD6.27 million ($16.68 million) y-o-y.
•    Total Earning Assets of BD2,876.13 million ($7,649.28 million) compared to BD2,824.61 million ($7,512.26 million).
•    Loans & Advances up 18.3 per cent to BD1,246.81 million (BD$3,315.98 million).
•    Customer Deposits of BD2,091.49 million ($5,562.47 million) compared to BD2,143.04 million ($5,699.57 million).  
•    Earnings per share (EPS) of 26.6 fils, compared to 23.0 fils y-o-y.

Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed, chairman of NBB, said: “On behalf of the Board, I’m delighted to report NBB’s continued growth and enhanced performance for the second quarter of 2018. With a strong 15.9  per cent rise in profitability, our results underscore the success the Bank is enjoying in the implementation of its strategy and efforts to further build market leadership.

“This includes ongoing investments in people and technology for the effective expansion of the business and greater penetration of the local economy.  During the quarter, the Bank also continues to invest in and drive plans to digitise, ensuring we are at the forefront of new in-demand products and services, and taking steps to activate and better leverage our regional presence. We look forward to accelerating growth in Bahrain and across our operations through the increasingly diverse nature of our business and capabilities.”

Jean-Christophe Durand, chief executive officer of NBB, added, “We are pleased to report another strong quarter of financial performance at NBB. The ongoing diversification of our business and strengthened participation in the local economy has seen healthy growth in revenues and profitability.”

“For the second quarter, we reported a solid rise of 14.3 per cent in Operating Profit (excluding one-off Income in the corresponding quarter of the previous year) backed by stronger general income in business and a higher share of profit from the Bank’s investment in associates. At the same time, we also saw growth resulting from enhancements to our product and service capabilities and the increase in the facilities we are extending to customers.

“We were also pleased to have launched our new business online banking platform during the quarter. In line with the digitisation of the Bank, we are bringing our business customers online helping them to enhance efficiency and better manage growth, especially SMEs. As we move ahead into the second half of the year, we will continue working hard to effectively serve our customers and create even greater value for Bahrain’s economy and our shareholders through further diversification and other innovations across the Bank and the way we operate,” he concluded.- TradeArabia News Service