Union National Bank posts 7.1% climb in third quarter net profit to Dh532m

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi-based Union National Bank (UNB) said on Wednesday its fiscal third quarter net profit rose 7.1 per cent on the year to Dh532 million while the profit for the first nine months this year rose to Dh1.4 billion from Dh1.3 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Commenting on the financial results, UNB’s Chief Executive officer Mohammad Nasr Abdeen said: “The continued focus on the core lines of businesses has led to a steady growth in profits and further strengthening of the strong financial position of the UNB Group.”

“UNB’s third quarter net profit exceeded our expectations. We were expecting a net profit of Dh418 million. The higher profit was due to wider net interest spread and lower provisioning. Their NPL (non-performing loan) ratio and NPL coverage both improved,” Shabbir Malek, banking analyst at EFG-Hermes told Gulf News.

However, Malek said UNB’s loan growth was slower than expected. “We expect the slow growth trend to continue in the fourth quarter,” he added.

Operating profit

UNB’s shares rose 0.98 per cent on Wednesday to Dh3.12 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Wednesday.

UNB said said the operating profit for the nine month period ended September 30 rose 7.2 per cent on year Dh1.8 billion, while loans and advances during this period rose 1.6 per cent to Dh56.6 billion. As well, the UNB said customers’ deposits at the end of September stood at Dh55.3 billion, up 5.2 per cent year-on-year.

UNB said its operating income and operating profit both maintained a steady uptrend. The operating income for the nine month period ended September grew by 7.1 per cent to Dh2.4 billion.

“The increase in operating income was due to an increase in net interest income and net income from Islamic financing which rose to Dh1.9 billion from Dh1.7 billion in the correspnding period a year earlier,” said UNB.

The bank said its assets at the end of September were valued at Dh78.018 million, compared to Dh76,882 million at the end of the same quarter a year earlier. Earnings per share in the first nine months this year rose to Dh0.53 from Dh0.50 in the corresponding period a year ago.