Dubai Islamic Bank, the first Islamic bank in the world, has posted a net profit of Dh1.211 billion ($330 million) for the first quarter of 2018, up 16 per cent compared with Dh1.042 billion for the same period last year.

Total income increased to Dh2.697 billion, up 13 per cent compared with Dh2.378 billion for the same period in 2017, while net operating revenue increased to Dh1.971 billion, up 9 per cent compared with Dh1.804 billion for the same period in 2017.

Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, director-general of The Ruler’s Court of Dubai and chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank, said: “The overall macroeconomic environment continues to recover, with bright prospects on the horizon for 2018, based on further improvement in global oil prices and pick up in investment activity, as a result of mega projects leading up to the Expo 2020.”

“DIB carries on its growth aspirations in the coming years following recent approvals from our shareholders to increase its capital and deploying it towards growing and expanding the business franchise.

“The quarter saw improving financial metrics across the industry following the implementation of new economic and banking regulations such as Basel III, IFRS 9 as well as VAT as the market continues to strengthen its domestic policies,” he added.

Dubai Islamic Bank managing director, Abdulla Al Hamli, said: “Once again, the bank has given a robust performance across all major financial KPIs as the growth agenda continues.  The significant growth in profitability over the years has enabled the bank to continue to distribute strong dividends to shareholders whilst optimizing internal generation of capital. As Islamic banking activities continuing to pick up pace in the country, DIB remains a key player in the financial sector with a growing market share year on year.”

Dubai Islamic Bank Group chief executive officer, Dr Adnan Chilwan, said: “2018 is a critical year as it effectively marks the culmination of the 10-year master plan that has seen the bank transform into a financial powerhouse in the UAE banking space. Whilst we continue on our expansionary agenda, this year is primarily about striking a balance between growth and profitability.”

“The market beating growth over the last few years has been the result of an extremely pointed and comprehensive strategic agenda built around positioning the bank to take advantage of both visible and seemingly invisible market opportunities.

“One critical component that has helped to get us where we are today is our ability to pre-emptively create capacity, both with regards to liquidity and capitalization. This has been a key differentiator that has allowed us to profitably grow over the years whilst ensuring that shareholder returns remain robust year on year,” he added.

“The year has once again started on a strong note with 16 per cent profitability growth clearly signifying that the plans put in place continue to yield strong returns. A key component of the success witnessed by the bank has been the shareholders’ support over the years, particularly in building capacity when needed to remain on our growth path,” Dr Chilwan said.

“Additionally, the last few years has shown that the bank’s growing profitability has been the leading factor in the strong shareholders’ returns and we are confident that this trend will continue as DIB moves forward in its expansionary plans in the coming years.” – TradeArabia News Service