Commercial Bank of Dubai’s 2014 profit rises 19% to Dh1.2b

29/01/2015 05:47 AST

Commercial Bank of Dubai’s (CBD) net profit for 2014 increased by 19 per cent to Dh1.2 billion, compared to Dh1 billion in 2013, marking a sixth consecutive year of profit growth.

The bank’s operating income increased by 10.2 per cent to Dh2.24 billion in 2014, largely due to a 9.3 per cent increase in net interest income to Dh1.58 billion compared to Dh1.44 billion in 2013 and a 12.5 per cent increase in non-interest income to Dh657.5 million.

CBD’s total assets were up 5.5 per cent in 2014 to Dh46.9 billion. Loans and advances increased 6.2 per cent to Dh32.2 billion at the end of 2014. Total lending to the corporate and commercial customers increased by 3.5 per cent from Dh29.1 billion in 2013 to Dh30.1 billion as at the end of 2014.

In the personal banking business the bank reported a 35 per cent increase in loan growth to Dh4.5 billion in 2014, up from Dh3.3 billion in 2013.

“The record 2014 net profit was achieved on the back of a collaborative effort from all of our lines of business, which has further diversified the bank’s revenues. In 2014 the bank has underwritten new loans in excess of Dh10 billion, with personal banking contributing almost 20 per cent as the bank continued to benefit from an increasingly strong UAE economy,” said Peter Baltussen, CEO of CBD.

On the liability front, the bank’s customers’ deposits grew 3.9 per cent to Dh32.2 billion in 2014. Liquidity continued to be strong with an advance-to-stable-resources ratio of 82.6 per cent and a liquidity coverage ratio calculated as per Basel III at 109.1 at the close of 2014. CBD’s impairment provisions net of recoveries fell from Dh395 million booked during 2013 to Dh283.7 million in 2014. Overall asset quality continued to improve with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropping from 10.1 per cent at the end of 2013 to 9.2 per cent at the close of 2014.

The bank’s impaired loan coverage ratio improved to 93.7 per cent in 2014 from 84.9 per cent in the previous year.

The bank’s capital adequacy and Tier 1 capital ratios were at 18.1 per cent and 16.8 per cent respectively. Return on average assets and return on average equity for the year ended December 2014 improved to 2.6 per cent and 16.7 per cent respectively from 2.4 per cent and 15.1 per cent as at the end of 2013.

CBD’s board has recommended a cash dividend of 25 per cent and bonus shares of 25 per cent.

Gulf News