Bank ABC Islamic has recorded a net profit of $37.3 million for the year 2019, 16.5 per cent higher compared to the $32 million recorded for the previous year.

The total operating income also witnessed double digit growth as compared to 2018, rising up 10.4 per cent to $46.7 million. Operating expenses were $8.5 million, 27.5 per cent higher compared to $6.6 million for 2018. When adjusted for one-off reversals in 2018, the expenses for 2019 grew by 12.9 per cent.

Net profit for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $8.5 million, 26.6 per cent higher than the profit of $6.7 million reported in the last quarter of 2018.

Total operating income in Q4 rose to $12.1 million, 7.7 per cent higher compared to $11.2 million reported for the same period in 2018 and operating expenses were $2.8 million, 47.3 per cent more than compared to Q4 2018.

ABC Islamic Bank’s total assets stood at $2.079 billion at the end of 2019, compared to $1.745 billion at the 2018 year-end. Shareholders’ equity at December 31, 2019 stood at $365 million, compared to $352 million at 2018 year-end.

The Bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 30 per cent, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 29 per cent.

Hammad Hassan, managing director of Bank ABC Islamic, said: “2019 was another year of stellar performance for the Bank despite persisting challenging market conditions. This is a reflection of a focused approach towards building a credit worthy client base. Our efforts to servicing existing clients by providing bespoke and innovative Shariah compliant solutions, as well as proactive management and scrutiny over the credit portfolio is paying off. We remain committed to our strategy with its core tenets of (a) broadening and deepening our core franchise, (b) globalising our capabilities across the ABC Group, and (c) enhancing our global operating model. We move in to 2020 with optimism whilst upholding the highest standards of Shariah compliance in our operations.” - TradeArabia News Service