Egypt's National Societe Generale on Wednesday posted a 33 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, helped by higher interest margins, and said it felt more confident about the future. Egypt's second-biggest bank by assets, majority-owned by France's Societe Generale, said net profit rose to LE 319.8 million ($55.4 million) from a restated LE 239.8 million a year earlier. Cairo-based Beltone analyst Nancy Fahmy said much of the increase in net profit was due to higher net interest margins and improved efficiency. "Growth in net interest income surged by 38 percent," she said. "It's the kind of bank that operates moderately and conservatively to maintain that kind of growth," she added. Three analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average net profit of LE 320.4 million. NSGB's Chief Executive Officer Mohamed El-Dib said the bank was nearing the end of the year "with more confidence in our ability to alleviate completely the impacts felt in the markets during the peak of the financial crisis." The bank said total loans rose 11 percent in the nine months to end-September to LE 31.07 billion, while total deposits grew 11 percent to LE 43.72 billion. The share price of NSGB, which is owned 77.2 percent by SocGen, rose 4 percent to LE 41.88 on Wednesday, before the financial results were released.
