(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) Monday reported net profits of KD 322.4 million (USD 1.06 billion) for FY 2017, a growth rate of 9.2 percent.
The bank's total assets grew by 7.4 percent YoY to KD 26.0 billion (USD 86.3 billion) and shareholders' equity by 5.0 percent YoY to KD 2.9 billion, the NBK said in a press release.
Customer loans and advances reached KD 14.5 billion, while customer deposits reached KD 13.8 billion, up 9.3 percent YoY, it added.
The NBK Board of Directors proposed the distribution of 30 fils per share cash dividend, representing 30 percent of the nominal share value. The board has also proposed the distribution of a 5 percent bonus shares (5 shares for every 100 shares) for the year 2017.
NBK Group Chairman Nasser Al-Sayer said: "NBK recorded promising performance in 2017 demonstrating the resilience, quality and diversity of earnings in a globally challenging operating environment. The Group maintained its leadership in Kuwait while successfully strengthened synergies between its international operations to deliver an ultimate customer experience".
"The Group's net operating income grew by 10.4% year-on-year to KD 822.7 million (USD 2,726.3 million), primarily driven by core banking activities as business volumes continued to grow thus ensuring NBK's successful strategy implementation" Al Sayer added.
Al-Sayer went on saying: "Credit growth in Kuwait remains solid supported by positive economic activity as the government's capital spending program remains intact. Kuwait's fiscal position is better than peers given the substantial buffers and strong sovereign ratings; creating room for acceleration in spending despite lower oil prices".
NBK's Group Chief Executive Officer Isam Al-Sager said: "The solid results of NBK reflect a period of strong growth and robust operating performance. Given the Bank's adequate capitalization, stable funding and ample liquidity conditions; NBK continues to benefit from emerging opportunities locally and regionally, affirming the Bank's income diversification strategy and improved profitability trends".
"In the context of income diversification, NBK maintained its leadership position across business segments in Kuwait and further strengthened that position as Boubyan Bank continues to drive the growth on the Islamic Banking front. The acquisition of a 58.4% stake in Boubyan Bank in 2012 was a long-term strategic move by NBK. We continue to see very positive momentum at Boubyan Bank, which contributed around 14% of the Group's profits in 2017." "On the other hand, NBK's International operations remained highly profitable contributing 28% of the Group's total profits. Our regional and international growth strategies continued to focus on Egypt and GCC countries while the improved synergies across other locations increases opportunities of cross selling and business optimization, which all supports more diversified assets, client base and income streams". (end) fnk.amh.mt
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