imagePORT LOUIS: State Bank of Mauritius reported on Monday a 4.4 percent rise in 2014 profit after tax of 3.16 billion rupees ($87 million) from a year earlier, citing a decline in demand for loans.

The Indian Ocean island's second-largest bank by market share said it had changed its financial year end from 30 June to 31 December, and its results were not comparable to the previous financial year, which were for an 18-month period.

"The group posted a modest growth despite the challenging operating environment characterized by weak demand for credit, excess liquidity in the domestic market and increasing competition," the bank said in a statement. SBM said earnings per share rose to 12.25 rupees for the period to end-December from 11.71 rupees a year earlier.

Copyright Reuters, 2015

Comments

Comments are closed.