Mubasher: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) achieved an increase of 16.4% in profits during the second quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Earnings grew to KWD 92.26 million ($305.31 million) in Q2-18 from KWD 79.29 million ($262.39 million) in Q2-17, according to a bourse statement on Monday.

During the first six months of 2018, NBK recorded a rise of 12.9% in profits to KWD 185.86 million compared to KWD 164.69 million in the same period in 2017.

The surge in 6M profits is attributed to higher interest income in addition to net revenue from Islamic financing due to strong growth in business volumes, the statement added.

It is noteworthy that in Q1-18, NBK posted an increase of 9.6% in profits to KWD 93.6 million compared to KWD 85.4 million in Q1 last year.