Bank Al-Habib’s profit declines nine percent

 Bank Al Habib (BAHL) announced a net profit of Rs2.31 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, registering a decline of nine percent as compared to the profit of Rs2.5 billion during the same period of the last year.

The EPS clocked in at Rs2.08 as against Rs2.27 last year. “The result came higher than our expectations, as the bank booked capital gains worth Rs732 million and reversals under provisioning expenses during the period,” Amreen Soorani said in a report issued by JS Global.

The bank’s net interest income declined 13.5 percent for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 as compared to Rs7.43 billion during the corresponding quarter of the last year. Non-interest income during the period surged 68 percent to Rs2.039 billion as against Rs1.208 billion last year. “Non-interest income growth was driven by hefty capital gains and growth in fee income,” Soorani added.