Ahlibank Holds Annual Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting
24 February 2021
February 24th 2021 – Doha, Qatar. Ahlibank held its Annual Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings on Wednesday, 24th February, chaired by Sheikh Faisal Bin AbdulAziz Bin Jassem Al-Thani, Chairman & Managing Director with attendance from the Bank’s shareholders.
The Annual Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings were held in adherence to the precautionary measures taken by the State of Qatar to avoid the spread of (COVID-19).
Ahlibank’s board reported a net profit of QAR 680.06 million for the year ended 2020 compared to QAR 675.23 million for the year 2019.
The Annual Ordinary General Meeting approved the Board’s recommendation for distribution of dividends for the year ended 31 December 2020 to the registered shareholders as at the date of the AGM. As a result of the Bank’s steady performance in 2020, and taking into consideration the preservation of shareholders’ rights, the stability of the Bank’s financial position, liquidity expectations and the balance sheet, the Board of Directors proposed a cash dividend of 15% (QAR 0.15 per share) for the year 2020.
The Annual Extraordinary General Meeting approved the continuation of the $2 billion medium-term bond programme (EMTN) and authorising the Board of Directors to update the programme from time to time.
Sheikh Faisal Bin AbdulAziz Bin Jassem Al-Thani, Chairman & Managing Director, commented on Ahlibank’s financial performance: “Ahlibank delivered a steady positive results for our Bank for the year 2020. Net profit reached QAR 680.06 million, compared to QAR 675.23 million in 2019. Loans and advances grew by 6.1% compared to December 2019, reaching QAR 33.513 million. Investments decreased by 5.9% compared to December 2019, reaching QAR 7.074 million, while the Total Capital Adequacy Ratio in December 2020 achieved a healthy rate of 17.7%, reflecting the Bank’s strong financial position.
Mr. Hassan Ahmed AlEfrangi, Ahlibank’s CEO said: “Ahlibank delivered another steady financial performance for the year 2020. The resilience shown by the Bank is a testament to the Bank’s prudent balance sheet management, particularly as it came under the backdrop of COVID 19 pandemic”.
Mr. AlEfrangi added: “Ahlibank continued to implement its strategy while achieving important milestones such as improvement in financial performance, an increase in the Bank’s business, in addition to the successful completion of the fourth bond issuance for US$ 500 Million under its US$ 2.0 Billion EMTN Programme in the international debt capital markets. This demonstrates a continued vote of confidence from international investors in both Qatar and Ahlibank. Furthermore, Ahlibank successfully launched a redesigned Online and Mobile banking platform with an easy user interface to enhance the digital banking experience of its customers. New social media platforms have also been launched to stay engaged with the customers. Our primary focus was the development of Qatari national talent which the Bank managed to do by increasing the Qatarization percentage significantly in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
The Bank’s financial performance highlights for 2020 include:
- The Bank’s Balance Sheet grew by 8.3% over December 2019 to QR 47,555 million.
- The Bank’s Stable Funding consisting of Medium Term Loans and Debt Notes as a % of Total Liabilities stood at 17% in December 2020 with the Bank focused on improving the maturity profile of liabilities.
- The Bank’s Loans and advances grew by 6.1% over December 2019 to QR 33,513 million.
- The Bank’s Net Profits increased by 0.7% to QR 680.06 million in Dec 2020.
- Cost to Income Ratio for 2020 improved to 25.6% from 27.3% in 2019 reflecting efficient management of the Bank’s operations.
- The Return on Average Assets (ROAA) and Return on Average Equity (ROAE) stood steady at 1.5% and 11.3% respectively, despite an increase in balance sheet size and equity base.
- Total Capital Adequacy Ratio as of December 2020 stood at a healthy 17.7%, reflecting strong capital position of the Bank.