Kuwait Finance House Q1 Net Profit Up 14.6%

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the country’s biggest Islamic lender, reported a 14.6 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, but still fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

Net profit rose to KD29.9 million ($99 million) in the three months to the end of March from KD26.1 million in the same period a year ago, the lender said in a statement.

Four analysts polled by Reuters forecast, on average, first-quarter profit of KD36.43 million.

The bank also said its Turkish subsidiary would begin operations in Germany, headquartered in Frankfurt, in the middle of 2015, with a starting capital of 45 million euros ($47.8 million).

The bank prviously had a limited branch in the German city of Manheim, but gained a licence to establish a fully integrated Islamic bank.