AHLI UNITED BANK B.S.C. REPORTS A RECORD PROFIT OF US$ 335.7 MILLION FOR 2012
Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (AUB) reported a net profit attributable to its equity shareholders of US$ 335.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2012. This represents a 8.1% increase over the 2011 result. The last quarter of 2012 contributed US$ 78.6 million to the overall increased result, as compared to US$ 70.3 million in Q4/2011.
Total operating income grew by 6.0% to US$ 892.8 million over 2011, driven by a 12.3% increase in net interest income, a 3.5% improvement in fee based income and a 8.5% increase in share of profit from associates and joint venture. Deployment of liquidity into diversified and risk acceptable sectors and assets resulted in the overall improvement in the net interest margin from 2.1% in 2011 to 2.2% in 2012. Key drivers of the increase in operating income were the 3.1% growth in net loans and advances together with a 17.2% growth in the non-trading investments portfolio over December 2011, funded by a 5.1% increase in customers’ deposits. Interest income includes a minor US$ 0.8 million exceptional gain from early repayment of subordinated debt. Ongoing adoption of a disciplined cost culture within the AUB Group further improved the cost income ratio to 29.9% (2011: 32.4%) and positively contributed to profitability.