Mubasher: Qatar National Bank (QNB) on Wednesday posted a 3.5% year-on-year increase for the third quarter of 2018.

Net profits amounted to QAR 3.72 billion in Q3-18, compared to QAR 3.59 billion in Q3-17, according to the lender’s statement to the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).

For the first 9 months of 2018, profits of the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region rose 5.6%  to QAR 10.8 billion, versus QAR 10.3 billion in the same period of the prior year.

Earnings per share (EPS) reached QAR 11.4 during the period ended September, from QAR 10.7 in the same period a year earlier.

Moreover, the bank’s total assets levelled up 8% year-on-year to QAR 853 million during the January-September period.

It is worth noting that QNB Group’s presence spans more than 31 countries serving more than 23 million customers through more than 1,200 locations.

QNB’s profits grew 7.2% to QAR 7.1 billion in the first half of 2018, compared to QAR 6.7 billion for the same period of the previous year.

By the end of Wednesday’s session, QNB’s stock rose 2.21% at QAR 181.12.