19 Apr 2018 – 1:42
The Peninsula
DOHA: Ahli Bank (Ahlibank) has recorded a net profit of QR176.1m for the first three months of 2018, an increase of 3.6 percent or QR 6.1m over the same period last year. The bank’s balance sheet grew by 4.7 percent over March 2017 to QR39.6bn, driven by growth in Loans and Advances, which grew by 13.7 percent to QR30.5bn.
Ahli Bank’s total customer deposits increased 9.2 percent as against March 2017 to QR 24.1bn, despite challenging market conditions. Total Operating Income increased by 2.8 percent to QR260.8m on account of higher Net Interest Income as higher loan balances and asset re-pricing more than offset the increased funding cost and due to higher Other Operating Income year over year.
The Cost to Income Ratio for the quarter improved to 30.0 percent, reflecting efficient management of Bank’s operations. The Return on Average Assets (ROAA) and Return on Average Equity (ROAE) stood solid at 1.84 percent and 13.9 percent respectively, despite higher asset balances and equity base. Non-Performing Loans Ratio (NPL) stood at 0.96 percent as of March 2018reflecting the bank’s focus on asset quality over balance sheet growth. Loan loss provisions, including IFRS 9 expected credit losses as of March 2018 were sufficient to cover 214 percent of Non-Performing Loans.
Commenting on the results, Sheikh Faisal bin Abdul Aziz bin Jassem Al Thani (pictured), Chairman and Managing Director of Ahlibank stated, “I am pleased to announce that the bank started the year on a positive note with an increase of 3.6 percent net profit in first quarter compared to the same period of last year. The capital adequacy ratio of the bank remained at 16.7 percent well above the regulatory requirements. These results highlight and confirm that we are on the right trajectory in delivering sustainable results. During the quarter we continued our focus on liquidityand cost control which is reflected in our steady performance. The growth in customer deposits addsstrength to our funding profile.”
