Mubasher: Kuwait-based Boubyan Bank on Thursday reported a 17.9% year-on-year growth in profits for the full year 2018.

Boubyan Bank’s profits amounted to KWD 56.11 million ($185.5 million) from January to December 2018, up from KWD 47.61 million ($157.4 million) a year earlier, according to a statement to Boursa Kuwait.

The bank attributed the rise in annual earnings to a KWD 14.15 million growth in operating revenues.

The Kuwaiti Islamic lender’s board recommended distributing a cash dividend of KWD 19.09 million for 2018, representing 8% of the share’s par value.

Earnings per share (EPS) hit 21.37 fils during 2018, up from 17.81 fils in 2017.

During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Kuwaiti lender posted a 16.7% increase in net profits, reaching KWD 15.8 million, up from KWD 13.54 million in the prior-year period.

Boubyan Bank’s stock levelled down 2.3% to 933 fils after 570,020 shares were exchanged, with a turnover of KWD 539,150.