Mashreq’s full-year profit jumps nearly fourfold to Dh3.7 billion on higher operating income

Mashreq, the Dubai lender controlled by the Al Ghurair family, has reported an almost fourfold jump in its 2022 net profit, driven by higher operating income.

Net profit attributable to owners for the reporting period surged by about 270 per cent to Dh3.7 billion ($1 billion), from Dh1 billion a year earlier, the bank said yesterday in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Operating income climbed by more than 29 per cent annually to about Dh7.5 billion last year.

All of the bank’s business units posted double-digit growth in “a year of significant strategic and operational change”, Mashreq chairman Abdulaziz Al Ghurair said. Mashreq’s report continues a run of positive financial results for UAE banks in 2022. Last week, First Abu Dhabi Bank said net profit rose 7 per cent annually to a record Dh13.4 billion. Dubai Islamic Bank posted a 25 per cent increase in annual net profit to Dh5.47 billion.

The revenue of UAE banks is expected to surge by 52 per cent to about $25 billion by 2030, with digital transformation playing a key role in boosting operations and customer services, Mr Al Ghurair, who is also chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, said last November.

Among the UAE’s largest and leading banks, about 95 per cent of banking transactions are now done digitally, with mobile banking comprising more than 90 per cent of activity, he said at that time.

In 2022, Mashreq’s retail banking operations remained the “backbone of our business”, with revenue up by 42 per cent a year, said group chief executive Ahmed Abdelaal.

Revenue from corporate and investment banking operations also rose 37 per cent annually.

Last year, Mashreq’s total assets grew more than 12 per cent annually to Dh198.81 billion while net interest income and income from Islamic financing rose by 50 per cent annually to Dh4.57 billion.

The bank also introduced a series of environmental, social and governance initiatives, Mr Abdelaal said. “We were the only bank from the region to sponsor Egypt’s Cop27 and the fact that we have facilitated more than $15.5 billion of sustainable finance as of end 2022 stands as a testament to our commitment to this cause.”