Egypt's National Societe Generale Bank, which is being bought by QNB, posted a 32% rise in net profit in the first quarter, it said in a statement yesterday.
The country's second-biggest private bank by market capitalisation made a net profit of 463mn Egyptian pounds ($67.60mn) in the first quarter compared with 350mn pounds in the same period a year earlier. "This was achieved through its strong risk management, diversified products and widely spread network," the bank said in the statement.
Operating income rose by 35% in the first quarter to 747mn pounds compared with 552mn pounds in the same period a year earlier.
Fees and commissions increased by 21% to 226mn pounds compared with 186mn pounds a year earlier.
Egypt's regulator approved a QNB offer to take over NSGB in which it offered 38.65 Egyptian pounds per NSGB share.
Saudi Hollandi Bank
Saudi Hollandi Bank, Saudi Arabia's eighth-largest listed bank, said its first quarter net profit rose 19.4% over last year, beating analyst expectations.
The lender said it made a net profit of 346.3mn riyals ($92.3mn) in the first three months of 2013, compared with net profit of 290mn riyals in the first quarter of 2012, a bourse filing said yesterday.
Five analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the bank to earn net profit of 315mn riyals in the quarter.
Arab National Bank
Saudi Arabia's Arab National Bank said first-quarter net profit rose 3.5% on the year as operating income edged higher.
Net income in the latest three month period amounted to 678.7mn Saudi riyals ($183mn), up from 655.5mn riyals in the year ago period, the lender said in a brief statement posted on the Tadawul website yesterday.
The result easily beat the 612mn riyals effort that analysts at Cairo-based EFG Hermes had pencilled in.
Total operating income for the first quarter rose 6.1% to 1.27bn riyals, Arab National Bank said, while total assets amounted to 133.7bn riyals at the end of March, a 6.6% on the year. The lender's loans portfolio increased by 14% to stand at 86bn riyals at the end of the quarter.
SABB
Saudi British Bank (SABB) yesterday said its first-quarter net profit rose 11% on year due to higher operating income.
Net profit in the last quarter amounted to 948mn Saudi riyals ($252.8mn), up from 854mn riyals in the year before period, SABB said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website.
Analysts at EFG Hermes had predicted its profit at 862mn riyals and NCB Capital forecast a 789mn riyals result.
SABB, in which HSBC Holdings owns a 40% stake, made a total operating income of 1.44bn riyals in the three-month period, up 16.4% on year.
Loans and advances as on March 31 stood at 101.2bn riyals, compared with 91.2bn riyals a year earlier, SABB said.
Global Invest House
Kuwait's Global Investment House said its full-year loss slightly narrowed to 55mn Kuwaiti dinars ($192.8mn) in 2012 from a loss of 57.51mn dinars in the previous year.
Fourth-quarter loss, however, has substantially widened to 19.54mn dinars from a loss of 3.28mn dinars in the same quarter of 2011, according to Zawya Dow Jones calculations based on Zawya.com data. The troubled investment firm said in a statement posted on the Kuwait bourse website that its total assets fell 12% to 497.9mn dinars at the end of 2012 from 563.8mn dinars a year earlier.
Global, which plans to voluntarily delist its shares from the Kuwait Stock Exchange, said in the statement that its board has proposed that no dividend be paid for 2012.
© Gulf Times 2013
