Burgan Bank Group, the youngest commercial bank and third largest by assets in Kuwait, said its net income, excluding the KD5 million in provisions charges, soared to KD20.4 million ($72 million) thus registering a 16 per cent year-on-year growth over last year.

The bank reported a KD15.6 million net profits for the first quarter after taking KD 5 million in precautionary provisions.

Announcing the results, chairman Majed Essa Al-Ajeel said the operating profit before provisions grew by 12 per cent to reach KD29.8 million compared to KD26.6 million reported for the first quarter last year.
 
The underlying performance for the first quarter reflected the solid financial and operating performance of the group, noted the top official.

"Burgan’s international operations continue to operate on a growth mode and increased contribution to group’s revenue to reach 58 per cent which is in line with the diversifications policy in faster economies," he stated.

Al Ajeel pointed out that Burgan’s balance sheet remained strong. The capital adequacy ratio stands at 18.57 per cent while liquidity ratio stands at 32.5 per cent. Asset quality continues to improve in which non-performing loans (net of collateral) ratio to gross loans stands at 2.1 per cent.
 
"We are very proud with the underlying performance that reflects the soundness of our strategy execution. Burgan is growing faster than the economy and still outperforming the market almost on all metrics," said the chairman.

The decision to take extra precautionary provisions reflects our adopted approach to cope with current adverse market conditions, and by implementing prudent measures encouraged by the Central Bank of Kuwait," he added.

The consolidated financials encompass the results of the Group’s operations in Kuwait, and its share from its regional subsidiaries, namely Jordan Kuwait Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Burgan Bank – Turkey, Bank of Baghdad, Tunis International Bank, in which Burgan Bank owns a majority stake.

Burgan Bank Group has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 216 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and Palestine.-TradeArabia News Service