Mashreq bank Q3 profit falls 3%

Dubai-based Mashreq bank third quarter net profit slipped slightly as lending conditions remain tight and the bank tries to keep costs down.

Mashreq made a net profit of Dh194.4 million ($52.94 million) in the three months to September 30, a fall of three per cent over the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations.

Reuters calculated quarterly figures from previous financial reports. Mashreq's net profit for the first half of 2010 was Dh453 million, growing to Dh647.4 million at the end of September, the lender said in a statement. Third-quarter profit in 2009 was Dh200.5 million.

"We have seen stability and growth in Q3 2010 in general, and the bank's current position is ensuring that we remain optimistic of further growth in the coming period," said Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, the CEO of Mashreq, in the statement.

Provisions stood at Dh1.2 billion at the end of the third quarter, the statement said, a decline of 12.3 percent from Dh1.38 billion for the same period in 2009.

Loans and advances in the nine month period to September 30 fell 9.4 per cent the statement said, indicating that bank lending remains tight. Customer deposits dropped 8.2 per cent in the same period, the statement said.

The bank's net interest income and income from Islamic products increased by 10.3 per cent in the first nine months of the year, the statement said, and could be an area which sees more growth in the future.