The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) maintained good earning growth with net income for the first half of 2003, rising to 13.18 million Bahraini dinars ($34 million), an increase of 14.2 percent against first half net income for 2002.
Net income before provisions also grew by 19.8 percent from BD 11.92 million in the first half of 2002 to BD 14.28 million in the first half of 2003, stated a press release. The growth in net income was mainly attributable to an increase in total income from BD 18.81 million to BD 21.70 million, resulting from higher other income which rose from BD 6.82 million in the first half of 2002 to BD 10.33 million in the first half of 2003.
The increase in other income was attributable to good commission income from our core businesses, a strong treasury performance and success in our investment advisory activities. The Bank's treasury successfully structured another series of Capital Protected Notes, which were heavily oversubscribed by our customers. Despite continued expansion of the Bank's loans and deposits book, net interest income declined from BD 11.99 million in the first half of 2002 to BD 11.37 million, mainly on account of reduced yield on the Bank's surplus liquidity deployment in an all-time low, short-term interest rate environment.
The Bank's results reflected an increased return for the shareholders, despite a 12.5 percent increase in issued share capital due to a one for eight bonus share issue. Earnings per share for the first half of 2003 rose from 25.6 fils to 29.3 fils. Return on average equity was 17.4 percent as compared to 16 percent in 2002.
NBB was established in 1957 as the first indigenous bank in Bahrain. A nation-wide network of 25 branches, 38 ATMs and over 2,500 Point-of-Sale terminals make NBB a leading provider of commercial and retail banking services in Bahrain. In 2002, NBB reported a record net profit of $51.2 million, capital adequacy of 33.9 percent and total assets amounting to $2.937 million. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
