NBAD Q4 profit down; CEO sees tough '09

GRIM TIMES: NBAD's full-year profit rose 20% to 3.019 billion dirhams from 2.5 billion dirhams in 2007.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi posted a 34 percent fall in quarterly profit on Monday, missing analysts' forecasts, as it braced for the credit crunch by setting aside provisions for weak loans.

"The fourth quarter profits are lower because of the voluntary collective provisions we decided to take against possible things going wrong in 2009," Chief Executive Michael Tomalin told Reuters by telephone.

Tomalin said the same conditions that had battered big banks worldwide would also be felt in the oil exporting emirate of Abu Dhabi but that the group was well positioned to withstand them.

"The liquidity tightness in the UAE has yet to have its full effect on the real economy. We therefore expect a difficult 2009 although the exceptional collective provisions we have taken this year should put us in the best possible position to withstand it," he said in a statement.

Fourth-quarter net profit fell to 492 million dirhams ($133.9 million), weighed by 289 million dirhams in collective impairment provisions as non-performing loans held at year-end rose to 1.072 billion dirhams from 859 million at end-2007.

Full-year net profit rose 20 percent to 3.019 billion dirhams from 2.5 billion dirhams in 2007, NBAD said.

Analysts forecast of NBAD's fourth quarter profit ranged from 539 million dirhams to 905 million dirhams, according to a Reuters survey. The average forecast was for a 9 percent fall in profit to 677 million dirhams.

NBAD, the third largest bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  earned 2.53 billion dirhams in the first nine months of 2008 and 744 million dirhams in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Shares in the bank fell 53 percent in 2008 and have shed another 9 percent so far in 2009. (Reuters)

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM