An overwhelming majority of National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) shareholders on Wednesday approve the financials with giving the nod to pay BD21.39 million cash dividend for the year 2012.
The 56th meeting of the General Assembly of shareholders was presided over by Chairman Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed who lauded the bank’s management for realising good results despite challenging environment.
“The year 2012 has been a year of weak economic growth for the global economy with the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and policy uncertainties in the U.S impacting investment and business sentiment. The GCC economies, though not immune to the effects of the global slowdown, have performed reasonably well in comparison as a result of government sponsored infrastructure projects, taking advantage of the significant government revenue and sovereign wealth funds. Bahrain’s economy has seen favorable trends emerging based on the data available for the first two quarters of 2012, which points to abroad based recovery. Most sectors have experienced a clear rebound since last year, including mainstays such as construction, manufacturing and hotels and restaurants. The Economic Development Board forecasts a GDP growth of 2.4per cent for the year 2012 driven by increased manufacturing and government spending,” Almoayyed said.
“The year 2012 has been another successful year for the Bank with a Net Profit of BD 47.50 million (US$ 126.33 million), an increase of 4.1 per cent over 2011. Strong growth in revenue and careful expense management resulted in an Operating Profit before Provisions of BD 59.27 million (US$ 157.63 million) for 2012, an increase of 11.2 per cent over the previous year. These results are a testimony to the resilience of the Bank’s business model which focuses on strong domestic growth while selectively seeking new business opportunities in the region. Return on Equity at 16.00 per cent and Return on Assets at 1.88 per cent remains strong by regional and international standards. The Bank remains well capitalized with strong liquidity and a well diversified asset portfolio. Customer deposits at BD 2,077.90 million (US$ 5,526.34 million) showed a growth of 9.0 percent reflecting the continued success of our deposit mobilisation initiatives. Total Earning Assets increased from BD 2,259.50 million (US$ 6,009.31 million) at the end of 2011 to BD 2,512.78 million (US$ 6,682.93 million) at the end of 2012, as the Bank cautiously added new loans that met with our well established risk reward criteria while the surplus funds were invested in bonds and money market. Capital Adequacy continues to remain at a healthy level of 27.9 percent. The prospects for 2013 appear promising although there are significant challenges facing the global economy. NBB’s business strategy places us in a comfortable position to capitalize on new business opportunities as they emerge and increase our market presence in the domestic economy besides seeking selective opportunities in the region. We remain fully committed to participate in the development of the nation besides meeting the expectations of our customers,” he said.
“The Board recognizes that good governance is a vital ingredient in the success of any organization and is fully committed to protect the interest of all its stakeholders. The Bank is in compliance with the requirements of the Code of Corporate Governance issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the CBB’s Rulebook,” he said.