Reuters
Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), one of Morocco’s three biggest lenders, reported a 12.5 per cent rise in 2014 net profit, helped by a jump in income from sub-Saharan Africa, and raised its dividend 10.5 per cent.
The bank said in a statement on Friday that net profit attributable to shareholders rose to 2.2 billion Moroccan dirham ($224.9 million), although the profit rise was held back by an increase in provisions for bad loans.
Shares of BCP opened 1.85 per cent on the Casablanca stock exchange after the results announcement.
The bank said its net banking income rose 12 per cent to 14.7 billion dirhams, thanks to its sub-Saharan subsidiary Groupe Banque Atlantique where net banking income jumped 26 per cent.