Al Salam Bank’s Q2 profit jumps 65.5pc

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (ASBB) yesterday posted a significant 65.52 per cent increase in second-quarter profit to BHD 6.80 million (USD 18.03m) from BHD 4.11m (USD 10.90m) in the same quarter a year ago.  Gross revenues increased 17.9pc to BHD 24.40m (USD 64.72m) in Q2 2019 from BHD 20.69m (USD 54.88m) in the prior year quarter. Operating income marginally picked up by 0.7pc to BHD 14.79m (USD 39.23m) from BHD 14.68m (USD 38.94m) in Q2 2018.   Basic earnings per share rose to 3 fils per share from 2 fils per share in Q2 2018. 

H1 results

For the first half of 2019, net profit attributable to shareholders was BHD 12.31m (USD 32.62m), reflecting a 30 per cent increase over the BHD 9.47 (USD 25.13m) last year.  Basic earnings per share increased by 50pc to 6 fils per share in H1 2019 from 4 fils per share in 2018.  Gross revenues increased by 6.6pc to BHD 45.72m (USD 121.27m) from BHD 42.88m (USD 113.74m) in the year ago period.   However, due to a decline in one-off items and recoveries, the Bank’s total operating income witnessed a decrease of 13.7pc, from BHD 31.47m (USD 83.49m) to BHD 27.17m (USD 72.07m). 

Driven by costs associated with strategy implementation, total operating expenses witnessed an 11.7pc increase to BHD 13.64m (USD 36.18m). Net provisions witnessed a significant decline of 86.7pc to BHD 1.31m (USD 3.47m).  Growth in the Bank’s asset base during H1 2019 stood at 7.4pc, increasing from BHD 1.71 billion (USD 4.54 billion) at 31 December 2018 to BHD 1.84 billion (USD 4.87 billion) at 30 June 2019. 

“Despite a challenging market and rising liquidity costs, our operations continue to become healthier as we invest in streamlining our businesses,” Chairman, Khaleefa Butti Omair Al Muhairi commented. “Gross revenues before recoveries and one-off items have shown a 20.0pc spike, from BHD36.34m to BHD43.60m, proving that the Bank is in a very strong position operationally. Our liquidity position also remains robust putting us in a privileged position relative to the market.”

  Group CEO Rafik Nayed added: “Excluding certain one-off items that significantly boosted our results last year, we would have reported one of the best-operating incomes results in our recent history. This is despite market liquidity constraints and escalating funding costs.”  

He added: “The Bank’s core banking business remains on a growth trajectory as we continue enhancing product and service offerings, and leverage technology for more efficiencies in operations. The early results of this transformation have already started to positively impact our financial performance, a trend we expect to continue in the months ahead.”