Emirates NBD sees 37% growth in Q1 net profit at Dh1.2bn

Emirates NBD, the largest bank in the Gulf by assets, has recorded a net profit of Dh1.2 billion during the first quarter of 2008 compared with Dh874 million in the same quarter last year, registering an astounding growth of 37 per cent.

Total income in the first quarter grew to Dh2.2bn compared to around Dh1.5bn for the same period last year, reflecting a strong growth of 49 per cent.

Total funded income grew by 57 per cent in the first three months of 2008 to Dh1.4bn. Earnings per share increased 35 per cent relative to the same period last year to reach Dh0.27, while return on tangible equity increased by about 25.5 per cent for the first three months of this year.

Costs in first quarter grew 48 per cent over the same period in 2007 to Dh855m with continued investments in distribution, infrastructure, governance capabilities and integration activities.

Cost-to-income ratio surged slightly from 38.3 per cent by the end of 2007 to 38.9 per cent by the end of March 2008. During the period the branch network increased to 113.

The group's total assets also surged 9.3 per cent during the first three months to Dh277.5bn by the end of March compared to Dh253.8bn by the end of December 2007.

Loans and advances grew 5.4 per cent over the same time period to reach Dh175bn, driven by robust growth in both wholesale and retail segments.

Customer deposits grew about eight per cent to Dh150bn in the first three months of 2008.

Sanjay Uppal, Chief Financial Officer of the group, told Emirates Business that the group's exposure to the sub-prime crisis in the United States stood at $10m, which were released last year and there will be no more exposure to the credit crunch.

"Non-performing loans also reached Dh1.7bn by the end of March 2008 compared to Dh1.6bn by the end of December 2007."

Uppal explained that the current main challenge is the integration process of technology and IT systems in the two banks. EIB's profit jumps 253% Dubai-based Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB), a subsidiary of Emirates Bank Group, said yesterday its first quarter profit jumped 253 per cent to Dh148.6 million.

The bank's total income in the first quarter of 2008 grew to Dh359.2m from Dh189.5m in the same period last year witnessing an increase of 90 per cent. The bank's balance sheet including total assets, customer deposits and shareholder equity also recorded significant increases.

Total assets rose 68 per cent to Dh21.15 billion, customer deposits grew to Dh18.15bn, an increase of 68 per cent and shareholder equity reached Dh1.48bn, recording an increase of 31 per cent. Earnings per share stood at Dh0.2, recording an increase of 257 per cent.

Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi, CEO of Emirates Islamic Bank, told Emirates Business that the total assets of the bank surged 11 times since launching the bank three years ago.

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