Dubai-based Commercial Bank International (CBI) has posted a net profit of Dh226 million ($61.5 million) in 2018, as against Dh175 million in the previous year, marking an increase of 29 per cent.

Quarterly net profit up 36 per cent from Dh61 million in Q3 2018 to Dh83 million in Q4 2018, while annual net operating income was up 7 per cent from Dh865 million in 2017 to Dh928 million in 2018. Quarterly net operating income increased 35 per cent from Dh 225 million in Q3 2018 to Dh304 million in Q4 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 7 per cent increase in income, while expenses fell by 9 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.” – TradeArabia News Service