Business | Banking
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank registers record profit
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank beat analysts' forecasts, posting its biggest quarterly profit ever after selling some investments and boosting lending. It also plans to expand abroad.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:11 January 28, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank beat analysts' forecasts, posting its biggest quarterly profit ever after selling some investments and boosting lending. It also plans to expand abroad.
Net income in the three months to December 31 surged 73.4 per cent to Dh287.82 million ($78.38 million), Reuters calculated, based on full-year data the bank released.
"The fourth-quarter growth was due to some factors, like more lending and selling of investments ... selling of the bank's investments and its real estate subsidiary's investments," managing director Khamis Buharoon told Reuters on the phone.
He could not immediately be more specific and the bank did not give quarterly data. Full-year profit attributable to shareholders rose 35 per cent to Dh770.88 million, the bank said in a statement.
Income from murabaha and mudaraba with financial institutions grew almost 28 per cent to Dh673.286 million, it said. Fees and commission income jumped 35 per cent to Dh144.54 million.
The bank, which operates in Egypt, plans to expand its foreign operations this year in an effort to reduce its reliance on the United Arab Emirates, Buharoon said. It has also hired Boston Consulting Group to advise on its strategy for the next five years.
"We are looking at expanding our operations into Algeria and other Islamic countries," Buharoon said. "We are also looking at acquisitions this year ... there is growth potential in many Islamic markets." He would not be more specific.
Analysts' forecasts for Abu Dhabi Islamic's fourth-quarter net profit ranged from Dh165.94 million to Dh202.94 million, in a Reuters survey last month, with the average of the four analysts at Dh176.52 million.
Abu Dhabi Islamic made a profit attributable to shareholders of Dh165.94 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.
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