Abu Dhabi: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Abu Dhabi’s biggest bank by assets and market capitalisation said yesterday its fiscal third quarter net profit fell 8 per cent on year to Dh1.04 billion, although the net income for the first nine months this year rose 13.8 per cent on the year to Dh3.66 billion.
In a statement, NBAD said its revenue in the third quarter fell 2.5 per cent on year as stronger fee and net interest income was offset by lower net investment gains and other operating income. The bank’s loans increased 5.2 per cent in the quarter ended September to Dh182.5 billion while customer deposits rose 18.5 per cent to Dh229.5 billion from the same quarter a year ago.
NBAD said its total assets in January-September period increased 14.8 per cent to Dh345.1 billion, while loans increased 10.9 per cent to Dh182.5 billion and customer deposits rose 20.6 per cent to Dh229.5 billion.
Commenting on NBAD’s financial performance, the Group Chief Executive Alex Thursby said: “Our results for the first nine months of 2013 were solid. We were also upgraded to AA- from A+ by S&P several weeks ago, a notable event as we are now rated only one notch below the Government of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign rating by all three major rating agencies.”
“Overall, we are well positioned for continued success in the future. I believe we have the right strategy in place and our challenge going forward will be to execute against that strategy,” he added.
Reacting to NBAD’s third quarter results, Tariq Qaqish. Head of Asset Management at Dubai-based Al Mal Capital told Gulf News: “The net interest margin declined in the third quarter, which has affected the topline numbers. However, the balance sheet looks solid in terms of growth of deposits and loans, which would mean the September quarter missed estimates is due to seasonal trends rather than fundamentals.”
Qaqish added: “We still believe, the asset quality of NBAD is one of the best among the banks in the UAE.”
NBAD’s stock on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Tuesday closed unchanged at Dh13.15.
NBAD said the global economic growth in 2013 is slower than in 2012 due to fiscal consolidation in many developed economies, but forecasts continue to point to an acceleration in 2014 driven by advanced economies. “Growth in emerging market economies is to remain higher than developed economies. Markets continue to focus on the timeline for a tapering off in quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve,” it added.
The bank said its asset growth in the first nine months this year was primarily led by lending growth and increased liquidity. “Non-performing loans increased to Dh6.264 billion, representing 3.32 per cent of the loan book and in line with our indications that non-performing loans should plateau at between 3.5 per cent and 3.75 per cent by year-end. Total provisions represented 97.6 per cent of non-performing loans.”
