National Bank of Bahrain achieved a net profit of BD24.09 million ($64.07m) for the first half of this year, compared to BD23.26m for the corresponding period the previous year. This was achieved despite making a BD1.65m provision for impairment on some of its equity investment portfolios.
For the second quarter, the bank recorded a net profit of BD10.45m compared to BD10.04m last time.
“The bank continues to enhance shareholders value by delivering steady and robust financial results,” said chairman Farouk Almoayyed.
“The results are a testimony to our ability to generate strong and steady returns despite challenging external business environment,” said chief executive officer Abdul Razak Al Qassim.
“We were able to improve profitability as a result of our strategy of focusing on the domestic economy while maintaining high levels of asset quality.” He said the bank is in a strong position to take advantage of the expected improvement in the business environment and will focus on offering value-added services to its customers.
The net interest income for the six months was BD26.84m compared to BD23.48m, an increase of 14.3 per cent attributed to improved returns on asset deployment and better balance sheet management.
Operating expenses increased marginally from BD12.85m to BD13.22m as a result of growth in the underlying business activities.
An amount of BD1.65m was provided during 2011 towards impairment on equity investments due to declining stock market valuations.
The bank continues to support and enhance its presence in the domestic economy while selectively seeking new opportunities in the regional market.
The earnings per share for the six months of 2011 was 28.2 fils compared to 27.2 fils for the corresponding period.
Loans and advances as at June 30 stood at BD849.9m compared to BD1.1 billion for the same period in 2010, the decrease mainly on account of some large value repayments by certain corporates. Core deposits continue to show strong growth.
Customer deposits as at June 30 stood at BD1.7bn compared to BD1.8bn last time, a decrease on account of a short-term large value deposit during the previous year.
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