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GAINS UP 55pc TO $305m

NBAD's quarterly profit tops estimates

Abu Dhabi, January 29, 2013

National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's largest lender by market value, posted a 55-per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, beating analysts' forecasts, helped by higher investment income and lower impairment charges.

The majority state-owned bank made a net profit of Dh1.12 billion ($305.2 million) in the fourth quarter compared with Dh724 million for the prior-year period, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

Full-year profit was Dh4.33 billion, up 16.8 per cent from Dh3.71 billion in 2011, NBAD said.

Analysts on average forecast a fourth-quarter profit of Dh876.5 million in a Reuters poll earlier this month.

"Our growth was a result of the success of our diversified business model, investment gains driven by favorable financial market conditions and successful hedging strategies," Michael Tomalin, NBAD's chief executive officer, said in the statement.

The lender also continued to expand its international presence by opening offices in China and Malaysia, and has set a target of expanding abroad from 14 countries to 41 countries by 2022, he said.

Net impairment charges for the fourth quarter stood at Dh365 million, down 24 per cent from the prior-year period. Full-year charges reached Dh1.33 billion compared with Dh1.49 billion in 2011.

Loans and advances stood at Dh164.6 billion in 2012, down 3.2 per cent compared with 2011, while deposits rose 25.4 per cent to Dh190.3 billion. Total assets grew 17.6 per cent during the year to Dh300.6 billion.

In November, the bank issued a 15-year 500 million Malaysian ringgit ($163 million) Islamic bond or sukuk, its third in the south Asian currency. NBAD earlier opened a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Malaysian capital.

The bank is also looking at acquisitions in Asia and Africa as part of plans to double the proportion of profits it makes from abroad over the coming decade, its head of international banking said in December.

Shares in NBAD were suspended pending the earnings announcement. They are up 7.8 per cent year-to-date. – Reuters




Tags: UAE | abu dhabi | NBAD |

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