Benefitting from an increasingly diversified economy, Commercial Bank has posted a net profit of QR274mn in the first quarter of this year.
Qatar’s premium bank has seen its total assets go up 6.2% to QR123.3bn in March.
The net profit is up 177% compared to the previous quarter (Q4, 2015). In Q1, 2015 the bank had earned a net profit of QR462mn.
Commercial Bank chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Jabor al-Thani said, “Despite the current economic conditions, Commercial Bank continues to benefit and support the sustainable growth of the economy of Qatar as it diversifies under the guidance of our wise leader, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Growth prospects for the economy remain strong, as the government maintains its public infrastructure investment, supported by government borrowing and significant fiscal reserves.”
On the bank’s financial performance during the first quarter of the year, Commercial Bank vice chairman and managing director Hussain Ibrahim Alfardan said, “Commercial Bank reported a net profit of QR274mn for the first quarter of 2016. Our business in Qatar has shown improvement compared to the previous quarter, as we target the opportunities of an increasingly diversified economy. Although economic conditions remain challenging, we continue to see opportunity in the short and long-term for Commercial Bank.”
The bank’s net provisions for loans and advances were QR259.1mn for the quarter that ended in March 2016, up 52% on QR170mn in 2015. The non-performing loan ratio has increased to 4.5% in March compared with 3.89% in the same period in 2015 and the coverage ratio has increased to 76.07% in March compared to 70.8% in December 2015.
Impairment provisions on the bank’s investment portfolio increased to QR20.2mn for the quarter that ended in March compared with QR6.1mn in 2015.
Commercial Bank delivered a balance sheet growth of 6.2% with total assets at QR123.3bn in March compared with QR116.1bn in March last year.
ABank contributed QR16.3bn of assets for the period. Balance sheet growth was driven mainly by an increase of QR3.6bn in lending to customers and QR2.1bn in due from banks and financial institutions.
Loans and advances to customers were up by 5% to QR75.5bn in March 2016 compared with QR72bn in Q1, 2015.
Customers’ deposits increased by 16.8% to QR72.1bn in March 2016, compared with QR61.7bn in Q1, 2015.
Commercial Bank completed an additional Tier 1 issuance of QR2bn during the quarter with a government entity.
The total capital adequacy ratio as of March 2016 was 15% compared to 13.5% in end-December.
Commercial Bank chief executive officer Abdulla Saleh al-Raisi said, “Commercial Bank’s operations in Qatar improved against the last quarter, as the business successfully targeted the right opportunities. The Qatari economy is growing at a robust rate, and Commercial Bank continues to generate growth from our market-leading products and services. During this first quarter we launched the Enterprise Mobile Banking app for SMEs - the latest in a long line of digital achievements from Commercial Bank and another ‘first of its kind’ in the region specifically designed with the business customer in mind.
Commenting on the bank’s subsidiaries and associates performance in Q1, al-Raisi added, “Our Turkish subsidiary has faced some challenges, reflecting the downturn in the Turkish economy. Turkey is a long-term growth opportunity for Commercial Bank, and they are currently raising new debt to fund ABank’s future growth. Our UAE associate has started to recover from the previous two quarters. 2016 will most likely be a challenging year for the financial services sector. However, we believe our regional investment strategy will continue to deliver value to our shareholders.”
Alternatifbank (ABank) is Commercial Bank’s subsidiary in Turkey while its associate in Oman is National Bank of Oman and the UAE is United Arab Bank.
Commercial Bank Plaza at West Bay. Qatar’s premium bank has seen its total assets go up 6.2% to QR123.3bn in March.
