NBB registers $84.4 million net profit

MANAMA: National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has reported a net profit of BD31.74 million ($84.41m) for the six months ended June 2017 as against BD31.72m ($84.36m) for the corresponding period of 2016.

In a statement, the bank said operating profit during the first half of 2017 was BD38.01m, an increase of 6.6pc over BD35.66m achieved during the corresponding period of 2016.

For the second quarter (April to June), the net profit was BD17m, an increase of 21.8pc when compared with BD13.96m for the corresponding period of the previous year.

The financial results were approved by the board during a meeting yesterday led by chairman Farouk Almoayyed.

On behalf of the board, Mr Almoayyed expressed his satisfaction on the results.

Chief executive Jean Christophe Durand said focus on new business initiatives and increasing the customer footprint resulted in a “strong improvement in operating profit”.

“As a result, the bank recorded a marginal increase in net profit despite the need to take impairment on certain credit exposures due to financial difficulties faced by some borrowers,” he added.

Net interest income for the first half was BD34.95m compared with BD31.82m for the corresponding period of the previous year, an increase of 9.8pc.

The increase in net interest income is attributed to growth in earning assets and better asset liability management leading to an improvement in net interest margin.

Other income for the six months was BD18.67m as against BD19.70m for 2016.

The decrease in other income was due to certain income from sale of investments in the previous year while such opportunities were not available during the current year.

However, core banking activities continue to show steady increase with commission from such activities recording a growth of 17.1pc.

Operating expenses decreased from BD15.86m for the first half last year to BD15.61m for the same period in 2017.

As a result, the cost-to-income ratio improved from 30.8pc in 2016 to 29.1pc in 2017.

The bank took impairment provision of BD6.27m during the current year due to financial difficulties faced by some borrowers and the resultant inability to meet their obligations.

Total earning assets (comprising treasury bills, bank placements, loans and advances, investment securities and investment in associates) remained steady at BD2,824.61m as of end-June this year compared with BD2,817.38m as of June 30, 2016.

Customer deposits stood at BD2,143.04m as at end-June 2017 as against BD2,195.90m earlier.

Earnings per share for the six months of 2017 were 25.2 fils, similar to 2016.

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/235818/NBB-registers-$844-million-net-profit