BEIRUT: Bank of Beirut managed to maintain a flat profit in the first nine months of 2011 despite difficult economic conditions in the country, a senior official of the bank said Friday.

“We have recorded a net profit of $76.1 million in the first nine months of this year. The profits went up by only 0.2 percent compared to same period last year but nevertheless our assets and deposits went up significantly,” Roger Dagher, the Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Beirut told The Daily Star.

He added that the profits in the third quarter were almost identical to the 3rd quarter of last year.

“There is a pressure on profitability due to the margins. But if we look at other indicators of Bank of Beirut such as deposits and assets they all went up considerably,” he said.

In February, Bank of Beirut acquired 85 percent of the Australian Laiki Bank as part of its expansion.

The acquisition is worth more than $420 million, including plans to invest in the acquired bank in Australia.

“This is one of the most important acquisitions in Lebanon in many years. This shows Lebanese banks are still eyeing other markets outside Lebanon to expand their business,” the source said.

In a joint statement from Marfin Popular Bank, the Cypriot parent company of Laiki Bank, and Bank of Beirut, the two institutions confirmed the agreement for the acquisition of 85 percent of the shares of Laiki Bank (Australia) Ltd. by Bank of Beirut.

As a result of this acquisition, Bank of Beirut’s assets grew considerably.

Total assets of Bank in the first nine months of this year stood at LL9.507 trillion compared to LL7.123 in the same period of last year.

Dagher stressed that Bank of Beirut expanded its operations in countries that do not have high political risks.

“That’s why we expanded to Australia, Cyprus and UAE where the risks are minimal,” Dagher said.

He projected the profits of the bank at the end of this year to be around $102 million.

BEMO bank also disclosed its results Friday.

The net profits of the bank in the first nine months of this year stood at LL10.530 billion compared to LL10.338 billion in the same period of last year.

Total assets of BEMO rose to LL2.142 trillion in the first nine months of this year from LL1.823 trillion in the same period last year.

So far only four listed Lebanese banks have disclosed the results before the end of October.

Most of the leading Lebanese banks did not report a significant rise in profits this year and most of them attributed the reason to the political stalemate in Lebanon and regional tension.