UNB earnings soar 41% to Dh764.6m

Dubai: Union National Bank (UNB) Group on Tuesday reported a 41 per cent jump in its net profits for the first half of 2008 reaching Dh764.6 million up from Dh542.4 million during the same period last year.

"UNB's consolidated net profit attributable to equity shareholders reached Dh759.7 million for the first half of 2008 as compared to Dh538.1 million for the corresponding period of 2007, an increase of 41.2 per cent," the bank said in an emailed statement.

The net profit for the second quarter of 2008 of Dh424.1 million, compared to Dh284.6 million, increased by 49 per cent quarter-on-quarter, reflecting solid growth in business and income from the core banking activities.

Key performance metrics have further improved with attributable return on average equity of 22.4 per cent and return on average assets of 2.5 per cent for the first half of 2008.

The efficiency ratio (cost to income) for the six month period ended June 30 improved to 28.4 per cent at the back of robust growth in revenues.

The loans and advances grew to Dh47.3 billion as at June 30, an increase of 50.4 per cent period-to-period. To support the growth in business customers' deposits increased by 53.6 per cent to record Dh47.7 billion. Overall, the consolidated total assets reached Dh64.7 billion, a solid growth of 43 per cent over the corresponding figure for the prior period.

As part of the strategy to be a key player in the region, UNB has been establishing presence in its identified target markets. UNB received approval from the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority to set up a branch in the Qatar Financial Centre.

During the first half of 2008, UNB launched the open-ended Al Samaha Islamic Fund. The fund aims at investing in Sharia-compliant equities.