Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) posted a 7 percent jump in first quarter net profit on
Wednesday, missing analysts forecasts, as net financing income
gains were offset by a drop in fee income.
The Gulf state’s second-largest lender by market value
earned QR321m($88.16m) , up from QR300.1m a year earlier.
Analysts on average had forecast quarterly profit of QR344.33m, according to a Reuters poll.
Net financing income climbed 8.6 percent to QR457m but fee income fell 21.7 percent from a year ago to QR65m.
The bank’s investment portfolio surged 261 percent to QR16.6bn due to a risk-free investment in government
Islamic bonds.
QIB invested QR1.25bn in a sukuk last June issued
by the Qatar Central Bank on behalf of the government to boost
the domestic bond market.
The lender also launched a $750m Islamic bond in late
September, part of a spate of debt issues across the Gulf
region.
Banks in Qatar are expected to benefit as the world’s
fastest growing economy spends more on infrastructure in
preparation of its plans to host the 2022 World Cup.
Shares in QIB closed up 0.84 percent at QR83.50 before
the results were released.
($1=QR3.641)
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