Ahlibank’s Net Profit QR 332.7 million for the first half of 2016
21 July 2016
Ahli Bank QSC is pleased to announce a Net Profit of QR 332.7 million for the first half of 2016, maintaining its underlying performance against H1 2015.
The Bank’s Balance Sheet has grown by 6.2% to QR 34,319 million since December 2015, with its Loans and Advances, growing by 4.2%, reflecting an improved market share.
In funding the business growth, Ahlibank has embarked on several strategic initiatives that would support its liquidity requirements with prudence and also in compliance with the regulations. The bank has succeeded in increasing Customer Deposits, including Certificates of Deposits by 3.8% to QR 22,764 million over the past 6 months, at the same time continued to improve its deposits structure in order to provide funding stability in the balance sheet and diversification of investors. The Bank’s Stable Funding Ratio, which consists of medium term liabilities stood at 13.4% as of June 2016 as against 8.1% in December 2015.
In reflection of sound management, balance sheet growth has been supplemented by the growth of its Net Fee and Commission Income which increased by 13% over H1 2015, dominated by trade finance activities from our customers, representing 6.4% of Total Operating Income. Furthermore, the Bank’s Cost to Income Ratio has been contained at 31.2% for H1 2016.
Ahlibank’s Non-Performing Loans Ratio (NPL) stood at 1.04% as of June 2016 as against 1.24% in December 2015 and Provisions Coverage of 138%, reflecting strong asset quality.
The mid-year Key Financial Performance Indicator, Return on Average Equity (ROAE) stood at an impressive 14.8%, notwithstanding the Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio of 15.1%. Return on Average Assets (ROAA) was at 2.0%, with an emphasis on shareholder value over size.
There are two highlights to celebrate in the first half of this year. The first is the completion of a successful US$ 500M debut fundraising in the international debt capital markets with a 5 year bond, which was 2.4 times oversubscribed by more than 100 leading institutions against the backdrop of challenging and turbulent financial markets and volatile oil prices. Middle East investors took up (55%), followed by Asia (20%), UK (15%), Europe (6%) and others (4%). The second highlight is wining the two prestigious leadership achievement awards from the Asian Banker for Best Managed Bank in Qatar in 2016 and Best CEO of the year 2016, in recognition of the good financial and business performance achieved by the entire Bank’s management team.
Ahlibank has also received the coveted Straight Through Processing (STP) award presented by Commerzbank AG. The award underlines the bank's outstanding STP performance of 99.77% in 2015 for the execution of commercial payments in Euros.
In addition, during the year, Moody’s has assigned a credit rating of A2/Prime-1 deposit ratings with a stable outlook in recognition of Ahlibank’s strong asset quality metrics, sound capital and improved funding mix.
Commenting on the results,
Sheikh Faisal Bin AbdulAziz Bin Jassem Al-ThaniChairman and Managing Director of Ahlibank stated “We continue our path of achieving solid results, despite margins pressure. Our emphasis is earnings quality generated from our core operations, and through ensuring consistent delivery of excellent customer service experience. We will continue to invest in the future so that we position the Bank for the next generation of banking, which will require a modernisation of our IT infrastructure to support our ambitious plans for business expansion. We are grateful to the Government for its visionary leadership and to the Qatar Central Bank for its continued support and guidance”.