Arab Bank Group reports $415m H1 profit

31/07/2017 07:23 AST

Arab Bank Group reported a net income after tax of $415.2 million for the first half of this year, compared to $424.9 million for the corresponding period of 2016.

The results were driven by solid growth in underlying core revenues and were achieved despite the impact of the foreign currency devaluations, the bank said.

Net operating income before provisions and taxes reached $593.5 million as compared to $591.3 million during H1 2016. Excluding the effect of the devaluation of a number of Arab and foreign currencies, the group's net operating income grew by 7 per cent, it said. Customer deposits stood at $33.5 billion while the loans and advances increased by 4 per cent to reach $24.7 billion.

Sabih Masri, chairman of the Board of Directors, stated that the strong performance of Arab Bank Group confirms the success of the group in dealing with the challenging operating environment.

Nemeh Sabbagh, chief executive officer, stated that despite geopolitical and macro economic uncertainties in the region, the underlying performance of Arab Bank Group for the six months period ended June 30, 2017 has been strong, recording solid growth in net operating income of 7 per cent, excluding the impact of FX devaluations.

Sabbagh stated that Arab Bank Group enjoys high liquidity and robust capitalisation. As of June 30, 2017, the group's loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 68.2 per cent, while the capital adequacy ratio calculated in accordance with the new Basel III regulations reached 15.6 per cent. He added that the asset quality of the group remained high, and that credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceeded 100 per cent, excluding the value of collaterals held.

Masri stated that the diversified business model and geographic profile of Arab Bank Group demonstrates its resilience and its ability to deliver sustainable growth.

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