Dubai Islamic Bank second quarter profit jumps 14%

Revenue rose by 16% to Dh4.7 billion in the in the first six months of the year

A pedestrian checks her smartphone while passing a Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC bank branch in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. Abu Dhabi is engineering a second bank merger in its latest attempt to stay competitive in the era of lower oil prices. Photographer: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg
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Dubai Islamic Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, said second quarter net profit jumped 14 per cent as income from financing, joint ventures and investment properties increased.

Net profit for the three month ending June 30 climbed to Dh1.38 billion, the lender said in a statement to the Dubai Financial market, where its shares trade. DIB beat the highest estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Income from investment properties jumped to Dh239.5 million at the end of the three-month period from Dh19.6m a year-earlier.

“We continue to sustain the growth of our balance sheet evidenced by the consistent increasing market share of DIB in the industry over the past few years,” said Dubai Islamic Bank managing director, Abdulla Al Hamli.

“The progress on digital ambitions continues with the launch of significantly enhanced products and services to the modern customer leading to a more personalised and secured banking journey that can be experienced anytime and anywhere.”

DIB posted a 12.5 per cent year-on-year rise in its first half net income which reached to Dh2.7bn on the back of an increase in revenue and strong liquidity position. Net operating revenue rose by 16 per cent year-on-year to Dh4.7bn in the first six months of this year, the bank added.

Operating expenses of the bank remained stable at Dh1.2bn in the first half of 2019 compared to Dh1.1bn during the same period last year whereas customer deposits stood at Dh156.9bn from Dh155.7bn at the end of 2018.

The strong performance in the second quarter comes as the bank considers acquisition of Noor Bank to boost growth. DIB last month recommended the takeover of its smaller rival to its shareholders.

“The acquisition of Noor Bank is in line with our disciplined yet flexible growth strategy which strikes the perfect balance between market dynamics and shareholder interest," said Adnan Chilwan, group chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank. "The economics of the deal will allow us the opportunity to capitalise on synergies, notably cost efficiencies, digitisation, product and business development and most importantly the customer experience."

DIB has hired HSBC to advise on the possible acquisition deal. Noor Bank is working with Barclays on the transaction that would create an Islamic lender with Dh275bn in assets, The National reported in June.