Falling impairment costs boost ADIB profit by 4.5% to Dh589.5m
Revenues for third quarter come in nearly flat at Dh1.42b
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) yesterday reported a 4.5 per cent year-onyear increase in third-quarter net profit to Dh589.5 million as impairment costs fell.
The earnings put total profit in the first nine months of this year at Dh1.75 billion, up 3.5 per cent from the Dh1.69 billion in the same period of 2017.
Meanwhile, revenues for the third quarter were nearly flat, at Dh1.42 billion (a 0.2 per cent increase), putting revenues for the first nine months of 2018 at Dh4.15 billion, a 1.2 per cent decline year-on-year.
The rise in profits came as provisions and impairment charges fell 29 per cent to Dh171.7 million despite the impaired financingto-gross financing assets ratio ticking up to 5.5 per cent, up from the corresponding figure last year of 5.1 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total customer financing rose 2.1 per cent to Dh78.4 billion, while customer deposits inched down 0.6 per cent to Dh98.5 billion. ADIB said in its management report that it continued to focus on “effective risk management” during what it described as “an unpredictable macroeconomic environment.”
Balance sheet ‘solid’
The report also said that the bank’s balance sheet “remains solid” after it raised capital through a recent rights issue and a sukuk issuance.
The bank concluded the rights issue earlier this month, raising Dh1 billion, which ADIB said will be used to support its growth strategy while boosting its core capital. ADIB said the impact of the rights issue will be reflected on its financials in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The bank saw a 16 per cent year-on-year decline in investment income in the third quarter to Dh122.7 million. FX income, however, rose to Dh78.5 million, up 19.6 per cent yearon-year.
“The UAE economy has proven resilient in recent years, and the ongoing investment in diversification will provide opportunity for ADIB to develop all its corporate and retail banking businesses in the coming years,” said Khamis Bu Haroon, ADIB’s vice-chairman and acting chief executive officer.
Nearly two years after Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya relocated to its new home within Dubai Mall, the cavernous space it vacated finally has a new tenant: Nike.
As Gulf News first reported in November 2017, the sportswear giant is set to open one of its largest stores in the world this year in the vast retail space once occupied by Kinokuniya.
In an emailed statement yesterday afternoon, Nike confirmed that it would open its flagship Middle Eastern store in Dubai Mall.
The company told Gulf News the “Nike Dubai store will be the largest store on one floor in the world, covering more than 30,000 square feet.”
It will also be the largest store anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa, they added.
While the company did not give an opening date for the store, two people familiar with the matter said it would begin trading in the second or third week of December this year.
The famous Nike swoosh logo, and the catchphrase “Just Do It”, both appeared last week on the white store front, which remains closed.
The two people asked not ■
According to one person with knowledge of the footwear market in the UAE, Dubai Mall’s Air Jordan store is the brand’s highest grossing in the world.
“With specialist brands such as Lululemon continuing to grow, this space runs the risk of being underserviced within the region and the decision taken by Nike to bring one of their largest [store] concepts globally to Dubai Mall shows there is still strong sentiment within this sub-sector,” said Anthony Spary, associate director at retail and property consultancy CBRE.
With retail sales faltering in the US, the Oregon-based company has turned its attention to international markets, especially China, in recent years.
Away from capital, the bank saw a 16 per cent year-on-year decline in its investment income in the third quarter to Dh122.7 million. FX income, however, jumped in the quarter to Dh78.5 million, up 19.6 per cent year-on-year.