UAE’s ADCB To Buy Back Further Shares In 2014 – CEO

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) plans to buy back a further three per cent of its shares this year, as it seeks to enhance its stock value, its chief executive said.

The emirate’s third-largest lender by market value bought back seven per cent of its shares last year after it secured approval from the regulator for a 10 per cent buyback last January.

“We have adequate capital to support our strategic growth plans and well-positioned to return excess capital to our shareholders via dividends and share buybacks,” CEO Ala’a Eraiqat told the lender’s annual general meeting late on Wednesday.

Last year’s buyback resulted in an uplift in 2013 earnings per share (EPS) of seven per cent on a pro-forma basis, he said.

ADCB’s 2013 cash dividend of Dhs0.3 ($0.08) per share was up slightly from the Dhs0.25 paid out in 2012.

ADCB shares jumped 3.7 per cent on Thursday, as part of a wider advance on the Abu Dhabi index, which climbed 2.2 per cent after rebounding from a technical resistance level.

The bank’s stock price hit a near-eight-year high last week as it benefited from improving economic conditions in the United Arab Emirates.