National Bank Of Abu Dhabi H1 Profit Up 25.6%

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest lender by market size in the UAE, announced that net profit rose by 25.6 per cent year-on-year to reach Dhs2.62 billion in the first half of the year.

Revenues also rose 18.8 per cent to Dhs4.87 billion, mainly driven by hedging strategies and increases in net interest income and non-interest income, said NBAD. Net interest income (including income from Islamic financing) was up 7.5 per cent in H1 2013 compared to H1 2012, primarily due to lower funding costs and slightly higher interest income.

Total assets reached Dhs327 billion, up 8.7 per cent compared to the first half of 2012.

The bank also reported a 15.8 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter of the year to reach Dhs1.21 billion. Revenues in Q2 2013 were up 14.1 per cent year-on-year, with net fees and commissions rising 23.5 per cent.

The bank, which appointed ANZ’s Alex Thursby as its new CEO in April to replace retiring chief executive Micheal Tomalin, said the results were in line with its medium term target.

“Our results for the first half of 2013 are largely positive, and I look forward to continuing the strong growth trajectory which NBAD has been on for many years,” said Thursby. That said, we face many challenges and have a lot of work ahead of us in order to achieve our goal of being the World’s Best Arab Bank.

“During my first few weeks at NBAD, I have focused my energies on formulating our strategic vision for the next five years.

“Overall, I believe this bank is in a very solid position and has great potential. The critical factor is to enhance our execution to significantly improve that position through a clear and coherent strategy, both domestically and internationally over the next five years,” he added.