CBI net profit jumps 29% to reach Dh226 million

dubai — Commercial Bank International (CBI) has announced its full year 2018 financial results, with annual net profit up 29 per cent from Dh175 million in 2017 to Dh226 million in 2018.

Quarterly net profit was up 36 per cent from Dh61 million in the third quarter of 2018 to Dh83 million in the final quarter of 2018. Annual net operating income was also up seven per cent to Dh928 million in 2018; while quarterly net operating income was up 35 per cent to reach Dh304 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi, chairman of CBI, said: “Last year saw continued growth and transformation of CBI, with our focus on key customer relationships and service excellence driving revenue growth and cost optimisation. Our corporate lending and customer deposits have grown substantially, and our continued focus on asset quality delivered significant improvements in credit provisions. As a result, CBI achieved solid profitability and growth in all target segments and businesses.”

Mark T. Robinson, CEO of CBI, added: “CBI’s strong performance has been primarily driven by strong loan and deposit growth in our target segments. In 2018, we achieved a seven per cent increase in income, while expenses fell by nine per cent year-on-year, as a result of the continued focus on improving our efficiency through digitisation and streamlining. Our operating profit was up 24 per cent, reaching a record Dh519 million. As we focused on asset quality, our credit provisions declined by 30 per cent compared to the previous year. With these strong results, we have laid strong foundations, upon which to continue strengthening the bank.”

CBI’s cost income ratio decreased by eight percentage points to 44 per cent in 2018, compared to the previous year. The cost efficiency gains were driven through digitisation, streamlining and a robust overall expense control strategy.