National Bank of Fujairah sees 81.8% drop in first-half 2020 net profit
Bank has taken on higher provisions to cope with unprecedented market conditions
Dubai: National Bank of Fujairah saw operating income drop 10.2 per cent to Dh755.6 million in the first six months, with “substantial” pressure brought to bear on margins.
But despite the headwinds, the extent of the decline was mitigated by “management action to protect the core business,” it added in a statement.
NBF had a net profit of Dh65.1 million for the six-month period, down 81.8 per cent. It was brought on by “absorbing the elevated level of provisions” needed to factor in “current exceptional market conditions”.
"NBF maintained its policy of prudent and transparent recognition of problem accounts and taken the opportunity to enhance net impairment losses in response to the potential impact of COVID-19 and current market conditions," the statement added. Net impairment provisions were Dh456.3 million for the six-month period compared to Dh209.9 million in 2019.
The bank’s other comprehensive income for the three-month period ended June 30 was up by Dh71.4 million, helped by improvement in investments.
Total assets rose by 3.9 per cent to Dh44.5 billion from Dh42.8 billion at the end of last year.