National Bank of Kuwait, the Gulf Arab state's largest commercial lender, reported a 3.2 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Sunday, edging ahead of analysts' expectations. Net profit was 83.9 million dinars ($298.6 million) in the three months to the end of March, compared to 81.3 million dinars a year ago, it said in a bourse filing.
Five analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted 80.70 million dinars in net profit on average for the quarter.
NBK, which opened a new office in Dubai in March, saw its international banking profit grow 15.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.
Group chief executive officer Isam Al-Sager said the bank would maintain a strategy focused on diversification, international expansion and a stronger push into Islamic finance.
Earlier this year he took over as CEO from Ibrahim Dabdoub, who ran NBK for three decades and helped transform it from a local lender into the Gulf's fifth largest bank by assets.
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