Mubasher: Foreign exchange companies in Kuwait saw a 4% decrease in net profits during the first nine months of the year, according to a statement by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).
Exchange companies registered profits of KWD 13.77 million ($45.41 million) between the beginning of January and September 2019, compared with KWD 14.34 million ($47.29 million) for the same period last year.
The decline in profits was attributed to an increase in provisions by 80.61% to KWD 2.98 million, up from KWD 1.65 million in the nine-month period in 2018.
Administrative and banking costs also rose by 6% to KWD 27.72 million.
This comes despite overall growth in total revenues by 3.52% year-on-year (YoY) to KWD 45.89 in the first nine months of the year.
Moreover, CBK data showed a decrease in the number of exchange companies to 40, from 42 in the same period in 2018.
Assets amounted to KWD 205.1 million, increasing by 4.69% YoY.
