National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) , the Gulf Arab state's largest commercial lender, fell short of analysts' forecasts despite reporting a 7.2 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit on Sunday.

The bank made a net profit of KD71.68 million ($237.2 million) in the three months to June 30, compared to 66.87 million dinars a year earlier, it said in the statement.

Commenting on the results, chairman Nasser Musaed Al Sayer, said: "The continuity of growth in NBK’s profits during the first half after excluding last year’s gains from the sale of IBQ, is yet another evidence and confirmation of the strength and soundness of the bank’s financial position and its prudent operational vision and successful strategy which the bank has consistently adopted.”

Al Sayer has also shed light on the continuing improvement of the quality of the bank’s assets in addition to the conservative policies which represent secure buffers against adverse regional developments and their impact on the general economic environment in the different markets that the bank operates in.

Al Sayer reiterated that NBK’s results reflect the solid growth of the real banking activities, indicating the increase in the net operating income by 4.9 per cent YoY, after excluding last year’s gains from the sale of IBQ, to reach KD362.1 million ($1.2 billion), which asserts the strong position of the bank in all its markets, capitalizing on emerging opportunities domestically, regionally and globally.

NBK, he stated, continues to be a key player in financing the government’s ongoing infrastructure spending plan.

This was strongly demonstrated in the recent success in concluding the first phase of the financing of the Clean Fuels Project, valued at KD1.2 billion with the NBK’s share amounting to KD400 million.

Group CEO Isam Jasim Al Sager, said during the second quarter, the bank successfully concluded a 6.5 per cent capital increase through a rights issues that attracted a three-times oversubscription reflecting the shareholders’ solid trust in the bank’s current operations and future prospects.

"NBK’s high capitalisation reflects the significance of the bank in the domestic economy and its capacity as the largest banking entity in Kuwait with a major role in financing large development projects. Capital adequacy ratio reached 17.2 per cent as of end of June 2016 ahead of all regulatory requirements," he added.

Three analysts polled by Reuters forecast on average that the bank would make a quarterly net profit of KD79.04 million.- Reuters and TradeArabia News Service