Lebanon’s largest bank, Banque du Liban et D'Outre-Mer (BLOM), recently announced that its consolidated net profits for the year 2001 rose 1.9 percent, from 2000’s total earnings of $78.5 million to $80 million in 2001, a bank statement confirmed.
BLOM’s assets totaled $6.3 million by year’s-end, rising nine percent over the pervious year, while consumer deposits recorded a 9.2 percent rise, reaching $5.5 billion.
The bank’s earnings per share resulted in a 22.6 percent yield on the market value of its Global Depository Receipts (GDR), based on its 2001 closing price. Shares reached $4.34 in 2001, up from $4.24 in 2000. BLOM’s GDR’s are traded in London and Luxembourg.
A number of other Lebanese banks finished the year 2001 with a drop in net profits, attributed to a rise in the nation’s public debt to $28.5 billion, equivalent to 170 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Lebanese parliament recently passed a tighter national budget for the year 2002, which stipulates spending at 9.425 billion Lebanese pounds ($6.28 billion) and revenues of LP5.65 billion ($3.76 billion), mostly privatization money. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
