Masraf Al Rayan posts QR510mn Q1 net profit as core earnings surge

25/04/2017 07:20 AST

Masraf Al Rayan, a Shariah-compliant lender, has reported a net profit of QR510mn in the first three months of this year on the back of “reasonable” expansion in core earnings. The bank’s financing grew 3% year-on-year to QR67.51bn and investments by 6% to QR15.56bn during January-March this year.

The asset quality (both financing and investments) continues to be one of the highest in the region and globally, maintaining a non–performing financing ratio of 0.16%, which has been consistently below this level for the last many years, a bank spokesman said.

Net profit (adjusted for non-recurring investment gain from associates) for the first quarter of 2017 compared to the similar quarter increased by 2%, which indicates a “reasonable” growth in core operating income, the spokesman added.

On the profitability indicators, Masraf Al Rayan continued to maintain its leading position with annualised return on average assets at 2.20% and annualised return on average equity at 16.72%, despite the depositors’ share of profits increasing by 45.1% due to higher cost of customer deposits at local and international levels.

“Given the regional and global market conditions and many other threats that dominated the economic landscape including the substantial decline of oil prices, the optimal utilisation of assets and other resources at Masraf Al Rayan’s disposal (helped) maintain sustainable financial performance and excellent customer service,” its chairman and managing director Dr Hussain al-Abdulla said.

Masraf Al Rayan group chief executive Adel Mustafawi said the bank’s total assets reached QR94.38bn, which showed an increase of 8% on a yearly basis.

Customer deposits grew by an impressive 12% year-on-year to QR63.07bn, while shareholders’ equity reached QR11.71bn at the end of March 31, 2017.

The lender’s capital adequacy ratio, using Basel III standards and the Qatar Central Bank regulations, reached 19.46% compared to 18.41% at the end of March 31, 2016. Masraf Al Rayan continues to lead the banking sector with one of the best operational efficiency ratio (cost-to-income ratio) of 21.64% against its peers in the market.

Earnings-per-share for the period reached QR0.68 compared to QR0.73 in the corresponding period of the previous year; while book value per share was QR15.62 against QR15.01 in the year-ago period.

Gulf Times