National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBank) posted a 13.2 per cent rise in full-year 2018 net profit as interest income rose and provisions for bad loans fell.
Net profit for the 12 months ending December 31 climbed to 917.5m, the lender said in bourse filing on Wednesday to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
“The efforts we have made to de-risk certain parts of the business over the last few years have allowed us to reduce provisions and improve the quality of our loan book," RakBank chief executive Peter England said. “The quality of our earnings has improved continually over the last two years and we expect this trend to continue.”
Total operating Income climbed to Dh3.8 billion, mainly on the back of a rise in net interest income and Islamic financing. The fee and commission income advanced by 12.7m at the end of last year. Non-interest income for the period, however, declined to Dh1.1bn as proceeds from investments declined.
Provisions for bad debts declined by 131.8m at the end of 2018 on the back of lower default rate in loans and advances to auto finance and small and medium-sized enterprises and commercial banking segments. Total impairment provision for the year came in at Dh1.42bn, compared to Dh1.55bn in 2017.
“RakBank remains well provisioned against loan losses, with a conservative loan loss coverage ratio of 133.1 per cent, which does not include the value of tangible assets held as security,” the lender said.
The bank’s total assets grew 8.5 per cent to reach Dh52.7bn at the end of last year. Gross loans and advances climbed 4.8 per cent to Dh34.8bn.
