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Dubai-based Mashreq bank’s net profit rose 25% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2024, supported by higher net interest income.
From January to March this year, total net profit reached 2 billion dirhams ($544.5 million), the lender said in a statement on Thursday. Operating profit rose 31% to AED 2.3 billion.
“The main drivers include exceptional business growth, healthy client margins, the current interest rate environment and low-risk costs,” the lender said in a statement on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
The bank’s non-interest income alone reached nearly AED 1 billion, representing a 29% increase over a year earlier. Its cost-income ratio improved by 3.5%, while operating profit went up by 31%.
Risk costs fell by 61% to AED 38 million, while return on equity reached 28%.
Overall, the bank has maintained “solid asset growth, financing and capital adequacy ratios”, despite global challenges, according to Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Mashreq Chairman.
“These indicators reflect the sector’s flexibility and resilience to adapt to the changes the world is witnessing,” the chairman said, noting that the UAE economy continues its upward trajectory on the back of robust policies and a conducive investment environment.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Brinda Darasha)
