#Kuwait Finance House's Q2 profit down 77.5% hit by lockdown | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Kuwait Finance House's Q2 profit down 77.5% hit by lockdown | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Kuwait Finance House on Thursday posted a 77.5% decline in second-quarter profit after it boosted impairment charges and precautionary provisioning for bad loans, as the economy was hit by a lockdown.

Net profit fell to 12.6 million dinars ($41.28 million) for the quarter to June 30, down from 56.1 million a year earlier.

Analysts at Arqaam Capital had expected a net profit of 29.1 million while EFG Hermes analysts had forecast a profit of 44 million.

The reduction in business activity due to lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus will likely lead to an increase in defaults on bank loans and rising loan-loss provisioning in the Gulf region, rating agency Moody's said earlier this year.