The Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank, a subsidiary of Albaraka Banking Group (ABG), said its gross operating income for the first half this year rose 50 per cent to reach $23.64 million.

After deducting operating expenses, the net operating income achieved a significant 58 per cent improvement to rise from $9.24 million in the first half last year to $14.58 million, said a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

This improvement reflects both the growth in income from financing and investment operations and the success of the bank in controlling the operating costs as reflected by the drop of the operating expenses to operating income ratio from 41 per cent in the first half last year to 38 per cent.

The assets of the bank increased by 36 per cent to reach $1.87 billion compared to $1.38 billion during the same period of last year.

This increase was the result of a significant growth in the murabaha, Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek and investment operations which increased by 103 per cent to reach $1.64 billion at the end of June.

Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank chairman and ABG president and chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said that he was pleased with these results, adding that the excellent performance of the bank in the past few years was the result of the hard work of the bank's executive management and the strong support that the parent company extended to the bank, in view of the key position of the bank in the group's regional and international strategy and the importance of the Egyptian market to the group considering the abundant investment and financing opportunities it offers.

The bank now operates from 18 branches and four money exchange bureaus.

Yousif said the bank had an ambitious plan to double the number of its branches in the coming five years and that it would open four new branches next year, and start building its new main office in the Sixth of October City, 20km south of Cairo. - TradeArabia News Service