KFH records KD 38.6 mln net profit for Q1 - Net finance revenues

27/04/2017 05:54 AST

Chairman of Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Hamad Abdulmohsen Al-Marzouq said that "KFH has, by the grace of Allah, realized a KD 38.6 million net profit for the first quarter of 2017 for KFH shareholders compared to KD 34.1 million for the same period last year i.e. an increase of 13.1 percent.

Net finance revenues for Q1 this year reached KD 100.1 million i.e. a growth of 3.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Total operating income for the first quarter of the year reached KD 168.6 million, i.e. a growth increase by 22.6 percent and net operating revenues reached KD 98.7 million, i.e. a growth of 55.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

Total operating expenses for the period decreased by KD 4.2 million, i.e. a decrease of 5.7 percent over the same period last year.

Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2017 reached 6.79 fils, compared to 6.01 fils for the same period last year i.e. an increase of 13 percent.

Finance portfolio reached KD 8.461 billion i.e. an increase of KD 285 million or 3.5 percent compared to end of year 2016. Total deposits reached KD 10.914 billion i.e. an increase of KD 252 million or 2.4 percent compared to end of year 2016. Total assets reached KD 16.445 billion and Shareholders' equity reached KD 1.751 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2017.

In addition, KFH's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) reached 17.96 percent, higher than the required limit of 15 percent, thus reiterating the strength of KFH financial position.

Al-Marzouq added that the balanced performance is attributed to the efficient execution of the bank's strategy by focusing on the core banking business while achieving stable and sustainable growth across the Group banks in various countries including Turkey, Bahrain, Malaysia, Germany, and others. This remarkable performance has been achieved through a set of successful strategic initiatives which were the cornerstone in reinforcing and supporting banking services at the group level.

KFH, the pioneer in the industry of Islamic financial services, has attained a remarkable and well balanced performance through its prudent and flexible business model and efficient risk management methods, not to mention the business diversification and the ability to soundly deal with the economic challenges and regulatory requirements. KFH managed to structure its investment portfolio and improve its asset quality while continued its prudent policy in setting aside provisions in light of the economic uncertainty. This leads to improving the Capital Adequacy Ratio while strengthening the bank's position.

He illustrated that the economic challenges the Kuwaiti banking sector faces lie in the difficulty of expanding domestically due to the relatively small geographical area and the limitation of the local market. He pointed out that there are many options available to KFH to grow; through the global markets where the group operates or by penetrating new markets that add value to the Bank's operations.

KFH continued its efforts in providing efficient solutions to the liquidity management through its various products. KFH-Group has realized total Sukuk trading volume amounting $11.4bn. KFH has become a primary dealer and a global Sukuk market maker.

KFH, through its investment arm KFH Capital, played an important role in arranging EQUATE Sukuk of $500 million offering under the $2bn issuance program. KFH participated in arranging $250 million Sukuk for Warba bank. This reiterates KFH keenness to support the national economy. KFH arranged Sukuk issuance for Dubai Islamic Bank DIB and Hong Kong totaling $2bn.

Al-Marzouq affirmed KFH commitment towards supporting the country's development plan, while contributing in bridging the budget deficit, indicating the Kuwaiti banking sector enjoys high levels of liquidity that allows it to finance the deficit in case it la

Arab Times