Tuesday, May 08, 2012
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Bahrain's United Gulf Bank (UGB.BH), or UGB, said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit surged 89% on year to $9.1 million due to an improvement in the financial results of its commercial banking and real estate affiliates.
Contributions from associates soared to $20.6 million in the first quarter, from just $2.6 million a year earlier, UGB, an asset management and investment banking unit of Kuwait-based Kipco Group, said in an emailed statement.
Total assets however fell slightly to $1.75 billion at the end of March from $1.77 billion at the end of 2011, according to the statement.
The Kipco Group is one of the largest diversified holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa region.
-By Shikrallah Nakhoul, Zawya Dow Jones, +961 1 985757, shikrallah@zawya.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-05-12 1325GMT
