Kuwait Finance House Q4 Net Profit Climbs 35.8%

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Gulf State’s largest sharia-compliant bank by assets, reported a 35.8 per cent jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Monday, according to Reuters calculations.

Kuwaiti banks have had firm to strong earnings in the quarter, with National Bank of Kuwait and Gulf Bank recording profit increases of 46.4 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively.

KFH’s net profit for the three months to the end of December was KD36.4 million ($123.2 million), compared to KD26.8 million in the year-earlier period.

Reuters calculated the fourth-quarter figure based on the bank’s financial statements as KFH didn’t provide a quarterly breakdown.

KFH beat Global Investment House’s forecast of 24.7 million dinars but fell short of EFG Hermes’ projection of KD39.47 million dinars.

Net profit for 2014 was KD126.5 million dinars, up 9.1 per cent from the previous year, a statement from the bank said late on Sunday.

The bank’s statement added its board proposed a cash dividend of 15 per cent and a 10 per cent stock dividend for 2014. This compares with a 13 per cent payout of both cash and shares in 2013.