PHOTO
First Abu Dhabi Bank’s (FAB) net profit has more than doubled in Q1 2022, boosted by the sale of a majority stake in Magnati, its payments business.
The UAE's biggest banking group made a net profit of 5.1 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion) compared with a year-ago profit of 2.5 billion dirhams; its "highest quarterly net profit" ever, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange listed lender said in a statement.
The bank’s net profit easily beat Refinitiv’s mean analyst estimate of 3.09 billion dirhams.
Total income was 7.3 billion dirhams, which included 2.8 billion dirhams net gain on the sale of 60 percent stake in Magnati.
Operating income came in at 4.5 billion dirhams, up 2 percent y-o-y, or 9 percent on an underlying basis excluding Magnati-related gains and real estate gains in Q1 2021. Operating costs were 1.5 billion dirhams.
Earnings per share came in at 1.84 dirhams, more than double of 0.86 dirhams in the year-ago period.
Loans, advances and Islamic financing were at 434 billion dirhams, up 15 percent y-o-y while customer deposits were at 600 billion dirhams, up 6 percent y-o-y.
Impairment charges were slightly lower at 457 million dirhams, compared to 470 million in the first quarter of 2021. Liquidity coverage was at 120 percent.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
