ABC Islamic Bank today announced that its net profit for the first quarter of 2015 was $6.1 million. This was an increase of 75 per cent over the net profit for the comparable period last year of $3.5 million, and also a 68 per cent increase over fourth quarter of 2014.
High profile syndications and asset churn contributed to good growth in fee income assisted by a focus on Debt Capital Market activity in conjunction with the Group’s Capital Market team.
Total operating income rose to $7.7 million, 50 per cent growth over $5.2 million recorded in the first quarter of last year. Operating expenses were kept nearly flat at $1.6 million.
Shareholders’ equity at 31 March 2015 stood at $270 million, compared to $264 million at 2014 year-end. The bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 26 per cent.
ABC Islamic Bank’s total assets stood at $1.378 billion at the end of the first quarter compared to $1.328 billion at 2014 year-end.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Naveed Khan, Managing Director of ABC Islamic Bank said, “Financial results for the start of 2015 are satisfactory. We had an exceptionally good quarter to start with, however lower oil prices and the possibility of slower economic growth in the region remain as challenges. Having made good investments in our team and product capability we remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.”
