NBB recorded net profit of BD 14.83m

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) declared that it had recorded a Net Profit of BD 14.83 million (US$ 39.44 million) for the first quarter of 2013 compared to BD 14.11 million (US$ 37.53 million) for the corresponding period of the previous year, an increase of 5.1 %.The financial results were approved at the Board meeting held on 9th April 2013 chaired by the Bank’s Chairman Mr. Farouk Yusuf Khalil Al-Moayyed. Expressing his satisfaction on the results achieved by the Bank, Mr. Al-Moayyed reiterated the Bank’s commitment to contribute to the economic development of the Kingdom and appreciated the efforts of the Bank’s executive management team and the employees for their dedication.Commenting on the Bank’s performance and future outlook, Mr. Abdul-Razzak Abdullah Hassan Al-Qassim, Chief Executive Officer & Director said, “The steady growth in profitability is a result of the Bank’s constant endeavor to realign its business strategies by leveraging on our core strengths while meeting customer expectations. We hope the overall economic conditions both in Bahrain and the region improves in the coming quarters and the Bank is well position to capitalize on emerging opportunities to further enhance our leadership position.”The Net Interest Income for the three months period in 2013 was BD 14.21 million (US$ 37.79 million) compared to BD 15.92 million (US$ 42.34 million) for the corresponding period of the previous year, the decrease largely on account of lack of quality lending opportunities and reduced returns on surplus liquidity due to low short term interest rates. Other income for the three months period in 2013 was BD 9.04 million (US$ 24.04 million) compared to BD 9.16 (US$ 24.36 million) for the corresponding period of the previous year with the growth in income from normal business activities off-set by lower dividend on the Bank’s equity investments.Operating expenses continue to be closely managed which decreased from BD 7.23 million (US$ 19.23 million) for the three months period in 2012 to BD 7.00 million (US$ 18.62 million) for the three months period in 2013. As a matter of prudence, the Bank took a voluntary general loan loss provision of BD 1.00 million (US$ 2.66 million) during the current year to further strengthen the overall financial position.The Bank continues to make steady progress with the Total Earning Assets (comprising of Treasury bills, Bank placements, Loans & Advances and Investment securities) as at 31 Mar 2013 at BD 2,481.57 million (US$ 6,599.92 million) compared to BD 2,321.48 million (US$ 6,174.15 million) as at 31 Mar 2012. Customer Deposits as at 31 Mar 2013 stood at BD 2,074.69 million (US$ 5,517.79 million) compared to BD 1,920.99 million (US$ 5,109.02 million) as at 31 Mar 2012, an increase of 8.0%.The Earnings per share for the three months of 2013 was 15.8 fils compared to 15.0 fils for the corresponding period of 2012