Al Baraka Banking Group will pursue its growth strategy up to 2016 and expect to open a further 50 branches this year as it continues to expand, said the bank’s president and chief executive

Adnan Ahmed Yousif said 2012 had started well, speaking after the bank's annual meeting at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa in Bahrain.
'We have had a good first two months and it looks like 2012 will be a good year for the bank,' he said.

'In spite of recent economic turmoil globally, we are pushing ahead with our strategy for the bank up to 2016 and expect to,' he added.

Last year, the bank showed a net profit of $212 million, reflecting an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year.

And yesterday the shareholders approved cash dividends at the rate of 3.5 cents per share, amounting to $30.43 million and the issue of bonus shares at the rate of one for every six paid shares amounting to $144.93 million.

'The cash dividends and bonus shares distributed to the shareholders reflect the outstanding results that we achieved in 2011,' Yousif said.

'These results confirm, as amounts and key indicators, our success in dealing with the current banking and financial situation.

'We prepared ourselves early for the repercussions of the crisis by developing balanced business strategies that enabled us to maintain expansion in providing finance and investment services and products through our subsidiary units on the one hand, and continue with implementation of our investment spending programmes in the areas of expanding our branch network and modernising the IT infrastructure and human resources on the other.

'Such strategies also required us to take the necessary prudent measures to address the adverse developments arising from the financial crisis by strengthening our liquid assets and building up reserves,' he added.

'The outstanding financial results achieved by Al Baraka Banking Group in 2011 were the result of implementation of carefully studied ambitious strategies that struck a balance between the adoption of prudent and conservative measures required by the prevailing regional and global economic and financial conditions on the one hand, and continuing our expansion in different markets and in providing innovative Islamic products and services to our customers, on the other,' said chairman Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel.

'It would not have been possible to successfully implement these strategies were it not for the strong capital resources and long experience of the group and its strict adherence to the Islamic banking model,' he added.

'The economic and financial developments witnessed in 2011 - either the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone or Arab political developments - further compounded the adverse conditions,' added deputy chairman Abdulla Ammar Saudi.

'Because of this, financial institutions all over the world were forced to adopt conservative and cautious business strategies.

'In view of these developments and conditions, the financial results achieved by the group in 2011 can be viewed as excellent by all standards,' he added. – TradeArabia News Service