Bahrain’s banking sector posts total net profit of $233.7 million
Bahrain-listed companies weathered an 8.3 per cent decline in total net profit for Q3-2023 even as corporates in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi experienced double-digit drops in overall revenue.
The year-over-year (y-o-y) decline in quarterly profits reported by GCC-listed companies was mainly led by a fall in energy and commodity prices, shows a report by Kuwait-based Kamco.
Aggregate profits in the kingdom were supported by Bahrain’s banking sector that recorded total net profit of $233.7 million, up 40.1pc y-o-y and 15.6pc quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q).
Arab Banking Corporation (Bank ABC) emerged as the top profit earner among banks in Q3-2023, with a net profit of $62m, up from $44m in Q3-2022. This growth was fuelled by robust business performance and a favourable interest rate environment.
BBK took the second spot, reporting a net profit of $51.7m in Q3-2023, compared to $37.1m in Q3-2022. The surge in BBK’s profits was primarily attributed to a 27.1pc increase in net interest income, which surged to $88.4m from $69.5m.
Overall net profit for the telecom sector in Q3-2023 climbed 7.9pc year-over-year to $51m from $47.3m. Beyon (Batelco) led the sector with a net profit of $46.7m, up from $43.1m in Q3-2022.
Beyon’s quarterly operating profit surged 14pc to $69m, while its quarterly revenues rose 6pc to $282.5m.
In the materials sector, Alba’s Q3-2023 net profit dropped to $45.9m from $127.1m in Q3-2022. This decline was primarily driven by lower LME prices, which fell by 8pc y-o-y in Q3-2023.
Net profits in the Diversified Financials Sector plunged 78.6pc to $8.3m in Q3-2023 from $38.7m in Q3-2022. Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company continued to struggle, reporting a loss of $16.7m, compared to a loss of $2m in Q3-2022.
Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company’s profitability was hampered by a combination of lower net interest income and higher net allowance on loans and receivables.
Meanwhile, GFH Financial Group’s net profit edged up slightly by 1.1pc to $24.3m in Q3-2023 from $24m in Q3-2022, partially offsetting the overall decline in sector profits.
APM Terminals, the sole constituent of the Transport Sector, reported a 35pc jump in quarterly net earnings to $5.9m in Q3-2023 from $4.4m in Q3-2022, propelling the sector to one of the biggest year-over-year percentage increases in net profits among all sectors.
Zooming out for a regional perspective, aggregate net profit for GCC-listed companies reached $62.3 billion during Q3-2023 as compared to $72.9bn during Q3-2022 resulting in a double-digit y-o-y decline of 14.4pc.
Out of the 22 sectors in the region, profits for 12 sectors showed y-o-y declines while 10 sectors showed higher profits.
In terms of q-o-q performance, aggregate GCC profits increased by 7.7pc in Q3-2023 led by double-digit profit growth for companies listed in Oman and Dubai.
Most global commodity prices witnessed a decline during the quarter that was also reflected in the slide in the Bloomberg Commodity index by around 10pc since the start of 2023.
Moreover, average Brent spot price was down 14pc in Q3-2023 as compared to Q3-2022, which was reflected in profits of listed energy companies in the GCC, including Aramco.
A fall in profits for the Capital Goods and F&B sectors also added to the decline while profits for the Utilities sector was affected by higher financing costs as declared by the two biggest players in the sector.
On the other hand, Banking sector profits once again remained resilient registering healthy q-o-q and y-o-y growth as lending grew in most markets despite higher interest rates.
The Telecom sector also showed higher y-o-y profits as did Real Estate during Q3-2023.
