Kazkommertsbank keeps to 2008 profit guidance

ALMATY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's No.2 bank Kazkommertsbank (KKB) (KKGByq.L) said on Monday it has kept its 2008 net profit growth target unchanged despite worsening conditions on the global financial markets.

"We are maintaining our projection for 2008 net income growth at the same level -- 20 percent year-on-year," KKB managing director Magzhan Auezov told a conference call.

KKB's net income rose 26.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2008 to $285 million. Auezov said the bank was now less dependent on international debt markets than a year ago when it, like other Kazakh banks, suffered from the liquidity squeeze.

"We have repaid more than a half of our external debt falling between 2008 and 2010," he said. (Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Quentin Bryar)