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BBK's net profit rises 8pc to BD37.3 million [Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)](Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MANAMA: BBK yesterday reported net profit of BD37.3 million for the nine months ended September 30 this year, representing an eight per cent increase over the same period of last year. Earnings per share was 37 fils compared with 34 fils per share for the same period last year. BBK chairman Murad Ali Murad announced that the BBK board of directors had approved the results. "Achieving our third straight quarter of positive operating earnings growth is a strong evidence that we are successfully executing our strategy and we believe that we have put in place all the elements required for sustained performance and profitability," Mr Murad said. "Backed by the bank's resilience and strong fundamentals, we remain completely focused on serving our clients with excellence and capturing the growth potential inherent in the core businesses." The boost in profits was predominantly attributable to the bank's robust cost control measures and the growth in core business income. Fees and commission income has recorded a growth of 9pc and stood at BD20.9m as of the third quarter of 2014 compared to similar period of last year. Net interest income has shown a moderate growth over same period of last year, and amounted to BD52.6m for the nine months ended September 30. The bank's operating costs plunged by 9.7pc to amount to BD35.5m, compared with BD39.3m recorded for the corresponding period of last year, primarily reflecting the bank's focused efforts towards process efficiencies and the successful implementation of its cost optimisation programme started in 2013. The cost-to-income ratio has subsequently improved to 41.3pc compared with 46.8pc recorded as of end of September 2013. Conservative provisioning of BD13.1m (2013: BD9.6m) were undertaken during the year of which BD9.5m were on the account of increasing the general provisions sat as prudence measures to account for probable future unexpected economic downturns. Comprehensive income witnessed substantial growth from BD31.2m in September 2013 to BD51.8m in September 2014, which was mainly driven by the improvement of investments fair value. The net profit for the three months ended September 30 showed a growth of 8.4pc at BD10.1m, compared with BD9.3m for the same period of last year, reflecting consistent strength in BBK core business. Net interest income for the quarter reported at BD17.8m, while other income including fees and commission, forex and investment income reached BD9.4m. Operating costs for the quarter stood at BD12.2m, lower than similar period of last year by 16.5pc. Total provisions increased by BD5.9m, of which BD4.2m were on account of general provision . "This quarter as the earlier part of the year, continued to pose BBK's robust performance," chief executive A Karim Bucheery said. "We're moving forward, step by step, as we reach in 2015 the end of our three-year strategic journey of building a world-class platform for BBK. "We are encouraged by our progress against our long-term objectives and we are confident that we will continue to be a pioneer in retail and commercial banking by exceeding our customers' expectations. "As part of BBK 's commitment to the development of its employees and also to the nurturing of the Banking expertise in young Bahrainis, we proudly praise the re-launch of the Management Trainee Development programme, as part of BBK's ongoing talent development and succession planning strategy," he added. Backed by controlled risk stance and prudent portfolio selections, BBK's balance sheet increased by 1pc to stand at BD3,331m as of September 2014. Net loans and advances has grown by 13.3pc to stand at BD1,822m for the third quarter of 2014, while non-trading investments grown by 2.8pc over the same period of last year to stand at BD765m. Total deposits reported at BD2,577m as of September marginally lower than the same period of last year. Liquidity position of the bank continued to remain at comfortable levels with liquid assets (cash and balances with central banks, treasury bills, financial assets at fair value through statement of profit or loss, and deposits and due from banks and other financial institutions) to total assets standing at 18.33pc and loan to total deposit ratio at 70.7pc. BBK's capital base continues at sufficient levels with capital adequacy ratio of 15.21pc well above regulatory requirements of 12pc. (c) 2014 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |