Noor Bank profit hits Dh217m, up 8%

Noor Bank has announced net profit of Dh217 million for the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 8 per cent over the same period last year and 220 per cent on the last quarter.

The bank’s revenue also rose by 8 per cent during the period under review, with all business lines reporting strong performance in line with 2019 growth plans.

Annualised return on shareholders’ equity hit 17.7 per cent.

The bank’s asset quality continued to improve, backed by the higher provision coverage ratio at 155 per cent and impaired financing ratio at 4.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the eligible liquid asset ratio reached 17.5 per cent, and the capital adequacy ratio amounted to 16.9 per cent.

“Our strong results testify to the robust performance across all our business units and asset classes and demonstrate our resilience to the changing market conditions. We have managed costs well and made smart investments in line with our growth strategy. Furthermore, our balance sheet shows solid growth, with customer financing and customer deposits up by nine and 10 per cent respectively compared to first quarter 2018,” said CEO John Lossifidis.

Potential takeover

Noor Bank’s strong first quarter financial performance comes at a time the banking is being evaluated by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) for a potential takeover.

DIB has confirmed that the bank’s board considered the potential acquisition of Noor Bank, another Dubai-based Islamic Bank.

“[The board] allowed the bank to explore possible acquisition of Noor Bank and revert to the board with the findings in three weeks,” DIB said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market last month.