Qatar Islamic Bank profit grows by 11.6% to QR2.4bn in 2017

18/01/2018 06:03 AST

Qatar Islamic Bank's (QIB) net profit attributable to shareholders stood at QR2.4bn for the fiscal year 2017, an increase of 11.6 percent compared to QR2.15bn reported for the year 2016. QIB's basic earnings per share reached QR9.31 compared to QR8.55 in December 2016. In line with the improved profitability, QIB Board of Directors proposed a higher dividend distribution to shareholders of QR5 per share i.e. 50 percent of the nominal share value, subject to approval of Qatar Central Bank and General Assembly.

Total Assets of the bank has increased by 7.5 percent compared to 2016 and now stands at QR150bn driven by a robust growth in the financing and investing activities. The bank's financing activities reached QR102.6bn having added QR4.4bn, representing a 4.5 percent growth over 2016. Investment securities have now reached QR30.4bn having added QR10.4bn, representing a 52 percent growth over 2016. Customer Deposits of the Bank have registered a strong growth of 6.7 percent compared to 2016 and stood at QR101.8bn improving the bank's financing to deposit ratio.

Announcing the financial results, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (pictured), Chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank, commented, "These positive financial results are achieved through the successful implementation of our business strategy and our effective risk management framework. The results confirm the Bank's strong financial position and reflect the firmness and stability of the Qatari banking sector and the country's economy. We are committed to deliver continued value to all our stakeholders and provide to our customers complete, modern and convenient banking solutions in full compliance with Shari'a guidelines" "During the last few years, we managed to increase significantly our market share to become the second largest Bank in the country, with approximately a 12% share of total banking assets. QIB today, has the required scale, resources and financial strength to continue to deliver high quality banking services to all banking customers in Qatar. The Bank is accelerating its future development plans which are aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Government's commitment to diversify the local economy and develop a strong private sector."

QIB's total income for the year ended 31 December 2017 stood at QR6.19bn, an increase of 13 percent growth compared to QR5.48bn for 2016.

Income from financing and investing activities has grown by 15 percent to reach QR5.46bn at the end of 2017 compared to QR4.75bn for 2016, reflecting a healthy growth in the bank's core operating activities.

Total expenses of QR1.10bn for the year ended 31 December 2017 are 1.5 percent above QR1.08bn for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Strict cost controls supporting higher operating revenues enabled further enhancement of efficiency, bringing down the cost to income ratio to 26.6 percent for 2017 as compared to 29.8 percent for the year 2016.

QIB was able to manage the ratio of non-performing financing assets to total financing assets at 1.2 percent, one of the lowest in the industry, reflecting the quality of the Bank's financing assets portfolio and its effective risk management framework. QIB continues to pursue the conservative impairment policy with the coverage ratio for non-performing financing assets reaching 107 percent as of December 2017.

Total shareholders' equity of the bank reached QR15.3bn, an increase of 7.4 percent as compared to December 2016. As of December 2017 the total capital adequacy of the Bank under Basel III guidelines is 17.3 percent, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements prescribed by Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.

In May 2017, Moody's has for the first time assigned Long term deposit ratings to QIB at "A1". In August 2017, Fitch Ratings assigned QIB a Long Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A', in April 2017 Capital intelligence

The Peninsula