First Gulf Bank’s first quarter net profit surges 27 per cent

Abu Dhabi: First Gulf Bank (FGB) recorded a net profit of Dh1.33 billion in the first quarter of 2014, up 27 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

In the first quarter of this year the bank reported total revenue of Dh2.25 billion, up 20 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2013. This was the result of a 17 per cent growth in net interest and Islamic financing income to Dh1.6 billion combined with a 27 per cent rise in other revenues to Dh650 million.

As part of its ongoing strategy to diversify revenue streams, non-interest revenues grew their share in total operating income to 29 per cent compared with 27 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. On the other hand, net interest and Islamic financing income contributed 71 per cent to total revenues compared to 73 per cent in the same period last year.

“During the first quarter of the year, the bank continued to look towards further expanding its local and international businesses and FGB’s focus on diversifying sources of revenue continued to generate positive results,” said Abdul Hamid Saeed, FGB Managing Director and Board Member.

Between March-end 2013 and March-end 2014, loans and advances grew by 7 per cent to Dh123.4 billion, and total assets rose by 10 per cent to Dh192.9 billion. On the funding side, customer deposits grew by 9 per cent to Dh129.6 billion.

The loans to deposits ratio as of March-end 2014 was at 95.2 per cent while the regulatory advances to stable deposits ratio of 82.4 per cent remained well below the UAE Central Bank ceiling of 100 per cent.

“FGB is off to a positive start in 2014 ... Non interest revenues generated by our three pillar businesses, namely the Wholesale Group, Consumer Group as well as our Treasury and Global Markets Group, showed significant growth. FGB’s assets were well positioned to benefit from the continuous economic improvement in the UAE and elsewhere,” said André Sayegh, CEO of FGB.

By the end of March 2014 capital adequacy ratio was at 19 per cent. Earnings per share for the first three months of 2014 is Dh0.33, which is 32 per cent higher when compared to the same period in 2013. At the end of the first quarter of this year FGB’s non-performing loan ratio stood at 3.4 per cent while provision coverage improved to 96 per cent.