National Bank of Bahrain announces financial results for first nine months of 2012

This is after setting aside BD7.29m ($19.39m) towards general loan loss provision to strengthen the balance sheet and BD2.55m ($6.78m) towards impairment on equity investments.

For the third quarter of 2012, the Bank recorded a Net Profit of BD11.93m ($31.73m) compared to BD11.86m ($31.54m) for the corresponding period of the previous year.

The financial results were approved at the Board meeting held on 10th October 2012 chaired by the Bank's Chairman Mr. Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed. Expressing his satisfaction on the performance, Mr. Almoayyed stated that the Bank's consistent and steady progress is a result of our continued focus on serving our customers with innovative products and services. He thanked 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 Razak Abdulla Hassan Al Qassim, Chief Executive Officer & Director said, "The Bank's strategy of increasing business through a well diversified asset portfolio resulted in a strong improvement in the underlying performance of the Bank. We continue to focus on new business opportunities to further enhance our presence in the domestic and regional markets."

The Net Interest Income for the nine months period in 2012 was BD46.95m ($124.87m) compared to BD40.38m ($107.39m) for the corresponding period of the previous year, a strong growth of 16.3% which is attributable to growth in earning assets and improved returns on asset deployment. Other income for the nine months period in 2012 was BD20.54m ($54.63m) compared to BD19.39 ($51.57m) for the corresponding period of the previous year, an increase of 5.9%. Operating expenses at BD20.62m ($54.84m) for the nine months period of 2012 showed a modest increase of 3.2 % over the previous year. As a result, Cost to Income Ratio for the nine months period in 2012 improved to 30.55 % from 33.44 % for the corresponding period of the previous year. The Bank took a general loan loss provision of BD7.29m ($19.39m) during the current year to strengthen the overall balance sheet position. An amount of BD2.55m ($6.78m) was charged during the year towards impairment on equity investments due to declining stock market valuations.

Total Earning Assets (comprising of Treasury bills, Bank placements, Trading securities, Loans & Advances and Investment securities) as at 30 September 2012 stood at BD2,462.38m ($6,548.88m) compared to BD2,142.04m ($5,696.91m) as at 30 September 2011. Customer Deposits continue to show strong growth and stood at BD2,029.69m ($5,398.11m) as at 30 September 2012 compared to BD1,765.05m ($4,694.28m) as at 30 September 2011, an increase of 15.0%.

The Earnings per share for the nine months of 2012 was 43.3 fils compared to 42.0 fils for the corresponding period of 2011.