August 19 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's First Investment Bank (Fibank) [BUL:5F4] said that its consolidated net profit rose to 98.3 million levs ($55.8 million/50.3 million euro) in the first half of 2019 from 49.7 million levs a year earlier, backed by investment property revaluations and lower depreciation costs.
Fibank booked net revenue of 72.9 million levs from investment property revaluations in the January-June period of this year, up from 13.7 million levs in the comparable period of 2018, the lender said in an interim financial statement on Friday.
The bank also nearly halved its depreciation costs to 25.3 million levs in the period under review, from 44.5 million levs in the like period of 2018.
The lender's revenue from banking operations edged down to 187.4 million levs in the first six months of the year, from 189.7 million levs the year before. Net interest income decreased to 123.5 million levs from 129.1 million levs, while net fee and commission income rose to 49.6 million levs from 48.0 million levs.
Administrative expenses grew to 111.8 million levs in the first half of 2019 from 100.6 million levs in the same period of last year.
The lender's assets totalled 9.97 billion levs at the end of June, up from 9.59 billion levs a year earlier.
Loans to clients other than banks and financial institutions increased to 6.08 billion levs at the end of the first half of 2019 from 5.72 billion levs a year earlier, while deposits from clients other than banks rose to 8.66 billion levs from 8.34 billion levs.
Fibank was Bulgaria's fourth largest lender by assets at the end of June, according to central bank data.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
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