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UNB Q2 profit up 9.7pc to $125m

Abu Dhabi, July 31, 2012

 

The lender, jointly owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, said it had net profit of 459.6 million dirhams ($125.1 million) in the second quarter to June 30, up from 418.9 million dirhams in the prior-year period.
 
Analysts forecast average profit of 426.75 million dirhams, in a Reuters poll. 
 
The bank's net attributable profit for the quarter was also up 9.7 percent to 455.7 million dirhams, from 415.3 million dirhams a year-ago.
 
Lower provisioning helped improve second-quarter profits with impairments down 20.5 percent to 120.1 million dirhams versus 151.0 million dirhams a year ago.
 
First-half net profit stood at 934.4 million dirhams, up 6.3 percent on the 878.7 million dirhams made in 2011.
 
"The results for the second quarter and first half of the year have continued to show a consistent improvement over the corresponding period last year," Mohammad Nasr Abdeen, chief executive of UNB, said in a statement.
 
Net interest income helped to drive improved performance at the bank, gaining 10.3 percent during the first half of the year to 1.24 billion dirhams from 1.12 billion dirhams in 2011.
 
The growth offset the 3.7-percent drop in non-interest income in the same period. The bank attributed the latter to a 14-percent drop in fee and commission income after the central bank imposed restrictions on lending to individuals last year.
 
Loans and advances at the end of June stood at 57.3 billion dirhams, down 0.5 percent from December 31, 2011.
 
Customer deposits also declined by the same amount from Dec. 31. UNB held 60 billion dirhams at the end of June.
 
Impairments for the first half of 2012 stood at 236.6 million dirhams, versus 220.9 million dirhams in the corresponding period last year.
 
In April, Fitch Ratings affirmed UNB at 'A+' with a stable outlook, while Kuwait-based NBK Capital said in June it maintained its long-term 'buy' recommendation on the bank.
 
Shares in UNB - which will operate in five countries after it opens a planned Kuwait branch in the third quarter - closed up 0.68 percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse. - Reuters



Tags: abu dhabi | profit | UNB |

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