JEDDAH, 10 October 2007 — The National Commercial Bank (NCB) registered a net profit of SR4.8 billion in 9 months and its net income without capital gains (loss) grew by 15.3 percent, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
NCB Chairman Abdalla Bahamdan said the bank have achieved the same level of profitability for the first nine months of 2007, compared with the same period last year where net income at period end reached around SR4,800 million.
He said the bank net income without capital gains (loss) reached SR4,813 million for the first nine months of 2007 compared to SR4,175 million for the first nine months of 2006, an increase of SR638 million or 15.3 percent.
He added that total assets grew by 23.6 percent to SR192,388 million on Sept. 30, 2007 compared to the same period last year.
Net loans and advances increased to SR86,793 million, an increase of 12.5 percent.
Bahamdan pointed out that customer deposits reached SR136,428 million, an increase of 19.8 percent. In addition, NCB’s total shareholders’ equity grew by 14.7 percent to SR27,224 million and the ratio of equity to assets stood at a robust 14.2 percent, thus reinforcing its strong capital adequacy ratio. Abdalla Bahamdan
The bank continued to maintain high profitability ratios as return on average assets (ROA) increased to 3.7 percent and the return on average equity (ROE) was 25 percent while earnings per share reached SR3.20.
The board of directors approved on July 3, 2007 interim net dividends of SR1,050 million, at the rate of SR0.70 per share, net of zakat.
NCB’s chairman added that “the foundation of these excellent results is the strong level of trust that NCB has earned from its valued customers and the deep commitment of the bank’s management and staff.”
The chairman expressed his deep gratitude to the bank’s clients, shareholders, board of directors and staff for their continued support to NCB.