Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB) has reported a a record net profit of $579.4 million for 2013, up 72.6 per cent when compared to $335.7 million the year before.

This included an exceptional non-recurring gain of $212.9 million on the sale of its 29.4 per cent stake in Ahli Bank Qatar (ABQ), said the bank in its statement.
 
Excluding this item, the operating net profit of the Bank was $366.5 million representing a 25.7 per cent increase over the previous year. The last quarter of 2013 contributed $77.2 million as compared to $71.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The operating income increased from $848.7 million to $958.3 million in 2013 (over 12.9 per cent), driven largely by a rise in net interest income (NII) of 12.1 per cent to $713.2 million when compared to $636.4 million in 2012 and a 16.2 per cent growth in fee income from $121.4 million to $141.1 million.

The NII increase was achieved through focused liability cost management together with prudent growth in asset volumes within acceptable risk criteria. Increased operating income and disciplined cost culture aligned to business needs across the AUB Group further improved the operating cost income ratio to 30.0 per cent (2012: 31.5 per cent), said the AUB in it statement.

The group’s total assets grew by $2.8 billion (over 9.3 per cent) to reach $32.7 billion by 2013 year-end. This is attributable to a 8.3 per cent growth in the loans and advances portfolio to $17.3 billion (31 December 2012: $16 billion).

Credit growth was funded by a 17.4 per cent growth in customer deposits to reach $22.0 billion (31 December 2012: $18.8 billion). The non-performing loan ratio was 2.6 per cent as at 31 December 2013 (31 December 2012: 2.4 per cent) with a specific provision coverage ratio of 87.6 per cent (31 December 2012: 87.7 per cent), said the Bahraini lender.

The total provision coverage ratio, inclusive of collective impairment provisions, was 149.4 per cent as at 31 December 2013 (31 December 2012: 149.8 per cent). Shareholders’ equity increased by $0.4 billion (+13.4 per cent) to $3.1 billion, it added.

Commenting on the results, chairman Fahad Al-Rajaan said: "AUB has managed to deliver a very strong set of results through its focused development of business opportunities and its prudent and pro-active management of risks. Of particular satisfaction was the 25.7 per cent surge in net profits, excluding the non-recurring impact of the Qatari affiliate stake sale."

"These results underpin the solidity of our business model, and AUB continues to remain confident of its ability to maintain its performance given its strong underlying fundamentals," he added.-TradeArabia News Service