Qatar’s CBQ first quarter net profit slumps on bad debt charges

DUBAI

Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), the Gulf Arab state’s third-largest lender by assets, reported a 68.3 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday, missing analysts’ forecasts, as bad debt charges rose sharply.

The bank earned a net profit attributable to equity holders of 91.2 million riyals (Dh92.1 million; $25.1 million) in the three months to March 31, it said in a statement.

That compares with a profit of 288.1 million riyals in the same period a year earlier. The bank earned net profit, inclusive of non-controlling interests, of 91.2 million riyals for the first quarter, compared with 274.2 million riyals in the same period of last year. (Reuters)