National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) posted a net profit of Dh154.9 million ($42.17 million) in the second quarter of 2017, a rise of 24.4 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2016.

The result reflects an improvement in the impairment provisions during the current quarter and a high level of resilience in its core business, the bank said.

On the back of a strong Q2 2017 performance, NBF reported a net profit of Dh281 million for the half year ended June 30 up 2.2 per cent over the corresponding period of 2016.

Operating income for the second quarter experienced a growth of 7.3 per cent and for the half year a growth of 1.8 per cent compared to the corresponding periods of 2016.

Net interest income and net income from Islamic financing and investment activities grew by 4.4 per cent and income from investments and Islamic instruments saw a growth of 113 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2016.

Loans and advances and Islamic financing receivables rose 4.8 per cent from Dh22.8 billion at 2016 year end to Dh23.9 billion, and up by 13.2 per cent from June 30, 2016.

Customer deposits and Islamic customer deposits declined by 2.5 per cent from Dh25.9 billion at 2016 year end to Dh25.3 billion but went up by 11.8 per cent from June 30, 2016.

Shareholders’ equity of Dh4.7 billion exceeded the 2016 year end level by 3.4 per cent, an increase of 6.6 per cent from June 30, 2016, the bank said.

Sir Easa Saleh Al Gurg, KCVO, CBE, deputy chairman, said: “NBF continues to make good progress in its principal areas of focus. The bank was honored once again with more awards and endorsements this quarter underscoring NBF’s long-standing culture of service excellence, client partnership and being the employer of choice. We are particularly delighted as the bank was ranked 4th in the GCC and the highest in the UAE at Mediaquest’s Top CEO Awards. Also, NBF retained the Best Corporate Bank UAE and Best Commercial Bank UAE at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards together with the MENA HR Excellence Team of the Year awards.”

“NBF’s strong Q2 results are a reflection of the bank’s underlying resilience and proactive approach to a challenging operating environment. It is good to see our commitment to the long-term sustainability of both our business model and our customer relationships have served us well during this period.” – TradeArabia News Service