National
Bank of Abu Dhabi , the UAE’s largest lender by market value reported on
Wednesday a 2.5 percent increase in quarterly profit due to higher interest
income and income from Islamic financing, beating forecasts.
NBAD
made a net profit of AED1.03bn ($280.4m) in the second quarter, up from AED1bn a
year earlier, the bank said in a statement.
Analysts
had forecast an average profit of AED972.86m in a Reuters poll.
However,
net profit for the first half fell 3.9 percent to AED1.95bn compared to first
half last year.
The
bank booked net impairment charges of AED696m in the first half of 2011.
Non-performing
loans increased to AED4.17bn, accounting for 2.65 percent of the loan book.
“Our
focus remains on top-line operating revenues which are up 10 percent year on
year,” CEO Michael Tomalin said in the statement.
Operating
income for the quarter reached AED2bn, up 13 percent over the same period last
year.
Loans
and advances grew to AED153bn at the end of the first half, up 13.3 percent
from a year earlier. Deposits rose 31.2 percent to AED147.2bn. Quarterly
figures were not provided.
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