Audi Bank Nine-Month Net Profit Up 14 Pct

Lebanese lender Audi Bank posted a 14 percent rise in nine-month net profit to $309 million on Thursday, despite what it said were unfavourable economic conditions in Lebanon, the Middle East and North Africa.

Consolidated assets stood at $29.2 billion, compared with $28.7 billion at the start of the year, even though the bank’s Syrian subsidiary has suffered a sharp contraction in assets to a third of their level before the start of the uprising in the country.

Lebanese banks have been hit by a slowdown in domestic economic growth, turmoil in neighbouring Syria and broader uncertainty in the Middle East after uprisings swept the region.

The bank said that its fully-owned Turkish subsidiary, Odeabank, obtained an operating licence last month and expected to open its first five branches in Istanbul and two more in Ankara and Izmir before the end of the year.

“Banking activities in Turkey are expected to constitute one of the main pillars of growth for the group in the coming years,” it said in a statement.

Bank Audi shares closed up 0.4 percent at $5.52.

Reuters