Egypt's EFG-Hermes dropped to a first-quarter net loss of 63.66 million Egyptian pounds ($7.17 million) from a profit of 181.55 million a year earlier after taking a non-cash impairment charge on its Credit Libanais stake sale process. "The commercial bank operations have been reclassified as an asset held for sale and so are reported as a discontinued operation," the firm said in a bourse statement on Wednesday. "The reclassification has resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of 280 million pounds on the assets held for sale. Despite the profits generated by the bank during the quarter, EFG Hermes has accordingly recognised a non-cash loss of 207 million pounds," it said. Revenue jumped to 404.49 million pounds from 249.91 million a year earlier, it said. EFG Hermes's board of directors in March approved the sale of a 40 percent stake in Credit Libanais for $33 per share, adding that shares would be sold to Arab and Lebanese investors subject to approval from the Lebanese central bank. It expected the deal to be complete by June 30. Source: Reuters
