Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), a leading Islamic bank, has posted a rise of 15 per cent in its operating income which reached $353 million in the first six months of the year.

After deducting all operating expenses, net operating income was up 13 per cent to $170m.

The net income amounted to $110 million in the first half of 2011 compared with $95 million last year.

Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company amounted to $64 million compared with $54 million last time.

This increase was achieved despite the rise in the operating expenses of the group on account of further expansion in the branch network, and enhancements in IT infrastructure and human resources.

Total assets were up 4 per cent from the year end to $16.5 billion as at the end of June.

For the second quarter, net income amounted to $57 million compared with $47 million, an increase of 21 per cent.

'We are very proud to see continuing growth in the revenue and business of ABG and further elevation in its regional and global standing in spite of extremely difficult economic and financial conditions and extremely complicated Arab political developments,' said chairman Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel.

'We consider the outstanding results achieved in first half of 2011 as an embodiment of the success of the business model that we followed since the founding of the group, a model that reflects the true values of Islamic banking and far-sighted business strategies,' he added.

'The financial results achieved by the group in the first half can be considered excellent and satisfactory by all standards if we take into account the difficult economic and financial conditions that prevailed in the region and the world,' said president and chief executive officer Adnan Ahmed Yousif.

'Such results were not possible to achieve were it not for the flexible and ambitious strategies of the group, which were based on a number of objectives, programmes and initiatives that aimed to achieve strong growth in earnings and operations taking advantage of the group's depth of geographical presence and thorough knowledge of the Islamic markets.”

'These strategies, at the same time, dealt with the repercussions of the global crisis and political events with prudence and realism,' he added.

'The subsidiary units of the group in Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain have resumed expansion by opening new branches and this had direct positive impact on growing their deposit base and financing portfolios. We expect the number of branches of ABG banking units to exceed 500 over the next two years.”

Work is continuing, according to the planned timetable, on the construction of the group headquarters in Bahrain Bay by the Arabtec Construction Company, which is one of the largest contracting firms in the Arab world.

The $100 million headquarters is designed to meet the present and future needs of the group.

'The choice of Bahrain Bay for the construction of its headquarters stems from the belief in the vital importance enjoyed by Bahrain as a financial and Islamic banking centre regionally and globally.

'In accordance with our new strategy, we have plans and initiatives we intend to implement during 2011. These include new innovative products and services as well as enhancing the ABG standing in the international markets,' he added. – TradeArabia News Service