The 50 companies listed in the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) recorded an aggregate net profit of BD286.51 million ($760 million), 6.26 per cent less than BD305.65 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2009, said a report.

All Bahraini sectors witnessed decline during the period with the exception of the hotels and tourism sector and the banking sector, which managed to improve their results, according to research by Global Investment House.

The industrial sector reported a decrease of 24.10 per cent. The sector reported a net profit of BD1.82 million compared to BD2.39 million last time.

The investment sector reported a decrease of 23.09 per cent.

The services sector recorded a decline of 19.23 per cent. Five companies managed to increase their net profits, while four reported a decrease.

Batelco, Bahrain's No 1 telecommunication operator and the biggest company in the sector in terms of market capitalisation, recorded a decrease of 16.99 per cent, with net profit of BD65.98 million against BD79.48 million last time.

This deterioration was due to Batelco's share of losses from S Tel, its start-up joint venture in India, and lower profits from other investments.

Also, the entry of the third mobile operator and ongoing regulatory reform have created a highly competitive market place.

The Bahraini banking sector, which consists of eight banks, where four banks witnessed an increase in their net profits, while three experienced noticeable decline.

One bank incurred losses.

The aggregate sectors' net profit rose by 6.93 per cent amounting to BD142.98 million compared to BD133.71 million last time.

BBK witnessed the highest profitability rise of 24.89 per cent, amounting to BD31.27 million compared to BD25.04 million last time.

The bank has increased its general provision reserve during the year as part of its effort to build a strong general provisions reserve against future unexpected market downturns.

However, these gains were mainly due to higher income from investments.

Ahli United Bank, the largest Bahraini bank in terms of market capitalisation, was the second major gainer in the sector with total net profit amounting to BD75.79 million compared to BD69.24 million last time.

These results can be attributed to the higher net interest income and increased net interest margin due to better management of costs of funds and lower impairment provisioning requirements. – TradeArabia News Service