CBK reports operating profit of Kuwaiti dinar 101.7m

Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Wednesday announced operating profit of KD 101.7 million, up by 8.5 percent compared with KD 93.8 million for 2012. The net profit after provisions amounted to KD 23.5 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2013, an increase of KD 22.4 million compared to the net profit of KD 1.1 million during 2012.In view of these encouraging financial indicators and profitability of the Bank during 2013, the Board of Directors decided to recommend to the General Assembly a cash dividend distribution of 7 fils per share (7 percent of par value) and bonus shares of 11 percent. This recommendation is subject to the approval of the competent regulatory authorities.In continuation of its prudent policy, the bank used part of its operating profit to enhance its provisioning base. The total provisions held with the bank against its credit portfolio as at the end of the 31st December 2013 amounted to KD 128.2 million and the provision coverage ratio for NPLs improved significantly to 367 percent at the end of 2013 compared to 169 percent to 2012.Commenting on the bank's financial results, Yacoub Al Ebrahim, the bank's official spokesman said Commercial Bank's total assets at the end of December 2013 reached KD 3.9 billion (December 2012: KD 3.7 billion) with shareholders equity of KD 561.8 million (December 2012: KD 552.1 million).The capital adequacy ratio at the end of December 2013 is 18.38 percent which exceeds the minimum 12 percent required by the Central Bank of Kuwait, and is more than twice the minimum ratio mandated by Basel Committee. The loans and advances grew by 8.9 percent and customer deposits increased by 16.5 percent during the year, he said.The official spokesman drew the attention of the bank's shareholders and customers and financial analysts to the internationally recognized credit quality indicator, namely non-performing loans to total credit ratio emphasizing that it showed improvement with non-performing loans ratio falling from 2.76 percent of total loans in 2012 to 1.35 percent in 2013 which reflects the Bank's improving the quality of its credit portfolio by 50 percent during one year.