Finance House (FH) has announced a net profit of Dh55.34 million ($15.06 million) for the nine months ended September 30.

The basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to the ordinary shares of FH for the period is Dh0.18, a statement said.

Net loans and advances as of September 30 were higher at Dh1.12 billion compared to Dh1.03 billion during the same period last year.

Mohammed Alqubaisi, chairman, said: “Despite robust levels of new credit facilities granted during the first nine months of 2011, loan draw downs were sluggish, reflecting the cautious borrowing approach adopted by the corporate private sector in the UAE.”

Net interest income earned during the first nine months of the year was Dh82.5 million compared to Dh89.5 million for the same period last year.

“Lower net interest income is primarily attributed to the sharp reduction in interest rates on inter-bank placements as well as lower charge-out rates on new credit facilities granted to high quality corporate customers”, Alqubaisi added.

 “In 2011 we have given shape to our Corporate Strategy of investing for the future. Insurance House PSC, Islamic Finance House Pvt JSC and Finance House Securities Co LLC are three major initiatives launched by Finance House where a sizeable portion of our retained earnings are invested by way of equity contributions. These are ventures with longer gestation periods and therefore have a negative impact on the bottom line in the short run. We are confident that these investments will pay-off handsomely in the medium to long term”,  Alqubaisi said.  – TradeArabia News Service