NBK logs KD151m net profit

KUWAIT — National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) reported net profits of KD150.6 million ($499.1 million) for the period of 1H 2016 compared to KD163.4 million ($541.5 million) for the same period in 2015. In 2015 net profits included KD22.5 million ($74.7 million) of net gains resulting from the sale of NBK's share in the International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), NBK said in a press release on Sunday. However, upon excluding last year's exceptional gains, NBK's profits during the 1H 2016 grew by 6.9% compared to the same period last year. NBK's 2Q 2016 net profits reached KD71.7 million ($237.6 million), compared to KD66.9 million ($221.6 million) for the same period in 2015 recording an increase of 7.2% YoY. As of end of June 2016, NBK's total assets grew by 4.9% on annual basis, to reach KD24.1 billion ($79.8 billion), while total shareholders' equity increased by 6.8% to KD2.8 billion ($9.4 billion). Total loans and customer advances, as of end of June 2016, have also grown by 7.8% compared to the same period of last year, to reach KD13.7 billion ($45.4 billion) while customers' deposits grew by 4.5% to reach KD12.6 billion ($41.6 billion).