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Banque Albaraka D'Algerie Raises net profit by 69% to DZD 804 million in the first quarter of 2009

Banque Albaraka D'Algerie , a subsidiary banking unit of Albaraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG), announced that it posted a net profit DZD 803.55 million (US$ 11.01 million) in the first quarter of 2009, reflecting an increase of 69% compared to the same period last year, while total assets increased by 7%, finance by 11% and deposits by 9% as at the end of March 2009 compared to the end of December 2008.

The Bank's financial results for the first quarter of 2009 showed an increase of 53% in total operating income compared to the same period last year to reach DZD 1.63 billion (US$ 22.39 million). This significant improvement in operating income was the result of the Bank's continued expansion in financing and in high-return banking services by the effective utilization of its wide branch network spread in all major regions of Algeria. Notwithstanding the significant increase in the Bank's operating expenses during the first quarter of the year as result of the updating of the IT infrastructure and expansion in human resources, net profits increased by 69% to DZD 803.55 million (US$ 11.01 million) in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period last year.

Total assets increased by 7% to DZD 77.14 billion (US$ 1.03 billion) as the end of March 2009 compared to the end of December 2008. This increase was invested in maintaining the Bank's strong liquidity position. Total liquid assets amounted to DZD 12.54 billion (US$ 166.75 million) as at the end of March 2009, representing 20.7% of total deposits, which reflected the strong liquidity of the bank. Financing also witnessed an increase of 11% to reach DZD 55.48 billion (US$ 737.90 million) as at the end of March 2009. These increases were achieved by enhancing the deposit base and the unrestricted investment accounts, including bank deposits, which increased by 9% to reach DZD 60.44 billion (US$803.82 million) as at the end of March 2009, which financed 78.3% of total assets and is an indication of the strong customer base of the Bank. Total shareholders equity amounted to DZD 9.02 billion (US$ 119.99 million) as at the end of March 2009.

On this occasion, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banque Albaraka D'Algerie and President & Chief Executive of Albaraka Banking Group, praised the excellent financial results achieved by the Bank during the first quarter of 2009. He stressed that despite the difficult conditions being experienced by the regional and global economies and markets and increased competition in the Algerian market, the Bank, thanks to its well-established position in the Algerian market, its long experience and wide-ranging portfolio of competitive products and services which it offers through 20 branches spread in all major regions of Algeria, was able to continue its growth and take full advantage of the positive developments taking place in the Algerian economy. This is a strong indication the high competency of the executive management of the Bank and the effectiveness of the support that the parent company, Albaraka Banking Group, provides to the Bank.

Mr. Adnan added that the Board of Directors the bank had early this year approved a big expansion plan for the Bank for the coming years. The Bank has already begun during this year working on the construction of the new headquarters of the Bank and it is in the process of implementing a new information technology system. The Bank also has plans to install an ATM network comprising 50 machines and it intends to open 30 new branches in the next three years to make a total of 50 branches. In the meantime, the Bank continues to introduce a new products and services including home furnishing consumer loans and a variety of deposit schemes, such as youth and property savings accounts and Hajj and Umrah savings deposits.

On his Part, Mr. Mohammed Seddik Hafid, Board Member and General Manager of the Bank, said that the Bank, thanks to the financial and technical resources available to it, was able to capitalise upon the positive developments that the Algerian economy was witnessing to continue its successes and enhance its financial position which reflected its strong position in the Algerian market and its ability to cope with all the challenges that it faced.

Mr. Hafid added that Banque Albaraka D'Algerie was the only bank of the eighteen banks in Algeria that operated according to the principles of the Islamic Sharia. The Bank has a network of 20 branches operating throughout Algeria and it plans to increase this number to 30 during the next three years. Because of its strong foreign trade finance services, the Bank holds an important position in the market, ranking first among the private banks.

Banque Albaraka D'Algerie is one of the main Banking Units of Albaraka Banking Group.
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Albaraka Banking Group (ABG) is a Bahrain Joint Stock Company listed on Bahrain Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai Stock exchange. It is a leading international Islamic bank with Standard and Poors short and long term credit ratings of A-3 and BBB- respectively. ABG offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Shari'a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$1.5 billion, while the total equity amounts to about US$1.52 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of banking Units and representative offices in twelve countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 283 branches. These banking Units are Jordan Islamic Bank/Jordan, AlBaraka Islamic Bank/Bahrain, AlBaraka Islamic Bank/Pakistan, Banque AlBaraka D'Algerie/Algeria, AlBaraka Bank Sudan/Sudan, AlBaraka Bank LTd./South Africa, AlBaraka Bank Lebanon/Lebanon, Bank Et-Tamweel Al- Tunisi Al Saudi/Tunisia, The Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank/Egypt, AlBaraka Turk Participation Bank/Turkey, Al Baraka Bank Syria (under formation), and an ABG representative office in Indonesia.

© Press Release 2009

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