Emirates Islamic posts 37% surge in first-quarter net profit

Emirates Islamic, a leading Islamic financial institution in the UAE, announced on Tuesday that its first quarter net profit surged 37 per cent to Dh212 million year-on-year supported by higher non-funded income and proactive cost management.

In a statement, the bank said its income grew 12 per cent quarter-on-quarter on the back of a recovery in non-funded income while expenses declined 9.0 per cent y-o-y and 11 per cent q-o-q due to effective cost management.

The bank said in statement that it reduced impairment allowances by 48 per cent y-o-y and 73 per cent q-o-q with a substantially lower net cost of risk at 108 bps following proactive provisioning in previous quarters while reporting an operating profit of Dh 319 million, down by 12 per cent y-o-y and improved 39 per cent q-o-q.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, chairman of Emirates Islamic, said the bank is confident that consumer confidence and business activity would continue improving. “As the Official Islamic Banking Partner to Expo 2020 Dubai, we are optimistic of the growth opportunities this milestone event will bring to individuals and business in the UAE,” he said.

Salah Mohammed Amin, chief executive officer said the bank seeks to build upon its existing strengths in digital innovation to meet the increasing demand for customer-friendly, secure and convenient solutions.

The bank’s total assets rose one per cent to Dh 71.2 billion, while customer deposits declined one per cent to Dh46.6 billion, with an improved CASA (current account saving account) to total deposit ratio at 79 per cent. Customer financing also rose 1.0 per cent in the first quarter to Dh41.2 billion as the bank maintained Tier 1 ratio at 18 per cent and capital adequacy ratio at 19.1 per cent, reflecting the bank’ strong capital position.

In the first quarter, the bank recorded a 22 per cent increase in digital transactions across its online banking platforms and it transformed nine of its branches to provide people of determination with convenient user experiences, the bank said.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com