Bank Of Bahrain & Kuwait Reports Net Profit Of BD23.3m For The First Half Of 2012
Mr. Murad Ali Murad, Chairman of BBK Board of Directors, announced that the bank’s board of directors has yesterday reviewed and approved the financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2012. The bank reported a net profit of BD23.3m for the 1st half of 2012 compared to BD23.1m for the same period of last year.
Mr. Murad Ali Murad Chairman of the Board of Directors said “We are satisfied with these good results which BBK reported for the first half of 2012. BBK has stood through the financial crisis and has been recording a steady performance over years. We are confident that BBK will continue its prominent performance in the future by adopting flexible strategies that acclimate to changes in the market, and through the ongoing support received from its loyal customer, supportive shareholders, dedicated management, and experienced employees”
The bank’s positive performance compared to last year was driven by commendable growth in core banking activities, which resulted in an increase in net interest income of 8.8% to reach BD31.4m, and an increase in fees and commission income of 12.9% to reach BD14.2m, compared to BD12.6m for the same period of last year. The bank also reported FX & Investment income of BD5.5m compared to BD7m in June 2011, which included BD0.3m of gain on partial redemption of subordinated debt (current year: nil).
The net profit for the three months ended June 2012 stood at BD11.3m compared to BD11.4m for the same period of last year. Net interest income for the quarter increased by 9.6% to reach BD16.3m, while other income, including fees and commission and FX and investment income increased by 7.2% to reach BD9.9m. Provision requirements for the 2nd quarter of 2012 amounted to BD1.9m, compared to BD0.9m for the same period of last year.
Mr. A.Karim Bucheery, Chief Executive; said “the bank has taken several initiatives during the year that enabled it to record these pleasant results. The initiatives included launching various campaigns on loans and deposits, introducing new products, such as “SECURA” Bancassurance products range, launching enhanced SMS banking service, and adding three additional ATMs at new locations”. The investments in these initiatives beside others resulted in increasing the operating costs to BD24.8m.
Following conservative approach to provisions, the bank has increased its provisions reserve by BD2.4m, (June 2011: BD1.9m).
Comprehensive income has increased from BD21.2m in June 2011 to BD32.6m in June 2012; mainly due to improvement in investments valuation reserves, as a result of management strategy to continuously improve and maintain the quality of the investment assets.
BBK’s balance sheet has witnessed a rapid growth of 13.2% to stand at BD2,903m, compared to BD2,564m reported in June 2011. The balance sheet growth compared to last year was driven by 14.0% growth in loans and advances to retail and corporate customers, increasing total loans to BD1,460m. Non trading investment assets have also increased by 49% to reach BD695m. Customer deposits have grown by 15% to reach BD2,065m, maintaining comfortable liquidity levels, with loans to deposits ratio at 62.1%.
Ameinfo
