CBI 2014 profit drops as provisions double

Commercial Bank International (CBI) reported a net profit of Dh134 million for 2014, representing a 24% decrease from Dh177 million for the same period in 2013 as provisions more than doubled.

The Ras Al Khaimah-based lender said its provisions increased to Dh332 million in 2014 as against Dh156 million in the previous year.

Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi, CBI's Chairman, said: "The 2014 financial year was a challenging one, but our customer focus and strict financial controls has yielded an acceptable result. In order to accelerate our efforts to address our legacy non-performing loans, we increased our provisions over the previous years. In 2015, we will focus on maintaining and developing our core business, capitalizing on growth opportunities while demonstrating a continued disciplined approach to risk management."

The bank's net operating profit increased to Dh465 million, up 40% on the 2013 figure – thanks to profitability in assets and an increase in fee based income.

Assets stood at Dh19.7 billion at the end of 2014, an increase of 33% on the previous year. Net fee and commission income increased by 7% to Dh220 million.

Loans and advances increased by 23% to Dh13.1 billion at the year-end compared to Dh10.6 billion at the end of December 2013, while customer deposits increased by 38% to reach Dh14.5 billion at the end of 2014 against Dh10.5 billion for the same period in 2013.

Shareholders' equity increased by 7% to Dh2.3 billion as compared to Dh2.2 billion at the end of December 2013.