Doha Bank has posted a half yearly net profit of QR519mn, up 10.2% on QR471mn registered in H1, 2018.
Doha Bank chairman Sheikh Fahad bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani said the bank has made “significant progress in improving the cost management and efficient utilisation of resources” where the operating cost for the period decreased by 8.2% as compared to same period last year thus reducing the cost to income ratio to 35.5% from 36.6% showing bank’s productive operational performance.
Sheikh Fahad said Doha bank’s total assets increased by QR11.6bn, registering a growth of 13.1%, from QR89.2bn as on June 30 last year to QR100.8bn billion as in June this year.
Net loans and advances increased to QR60.9bn in H1 from QR58bn for the same period last year, registering a growth of 5.1%.
Customer deposits showed a year-on-year increase of 7.2% from QR51.9bn to QR55.6bn as of June 30 this year, which is evidence of the “strong liquidity position” of the Bank.
Sheikh Fahad pointed out that the total financial investment portfolio increased by QR5.5bn, showing a significant growth of 27.7% as compared to the same period of the last year.
Sheikh Fahad highlighted that the achieved half yearly profit of QR519mn as against QR471mn in the same period last year was due to “robust” growth on investment income and control on operating expenses. This was done as the bank focus was on strengthening the provisions.
He expressed his satisfaction with the growth of the interest income by 5.5% as compared to the same period last year.
Fitch has affirmed Doha Bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A’ with a ‘Stable’ outlook, which recognise Doha Bank’s sustainable business model in the current business environment.
Doha Bank managing director Sheikh Abdul Rehman bin Mohamed bin Jabor al-Thani said, “The total shareholder’s equity stood at QR13.3bn as of June 30 this year, from QR12.5bn for the same period last year, registering a growth of 5.7%.
“The bank continued to strengthen its key capitalisation ratios, where the total capital adequacy ratio of the bank increased to 17.4% in H1, 2019 from 16.6% in the same period last year. The bank, given the scale of its operations, has achieved a return on the average assets of 1.05% as of June 30”.
Sheikh Abdul Rehman “lauded the performance” of the QE Index ETF ‘QETF’ fund, where the fund achieved a total return of 20% in 2018, outperforming most ETFs in the world.
On Doha Bank H1 performance, Dr. Seetharaman, chief executive officer said, “This achievement is the culmination of untiring efforts of various parties who contributed to the QETF’s success in its first year of operations.”
He said, “We believe the QETF holds immense promise and opens a gateway to the Qatari market for global investors.”
“Despite challenging market conditions, Doha Bank’s performance throws light on its superior products and services, ongoing customer demand and capitalising on market synergies.” The bank’s top ranking of listed companies in Qatar by ESG Invest, for the second year in a row, reinforced its position as a global sustainability leader,” Seetharaman said.
During the year, Doha Bank completed 40 years of operations. The bank announced a campaign by offering gold rewards, launched a new housing loan campaign as well as a Qatari buyout loan campaign offering interest rates as low as 0%.
On this achievement, Dr. Seetharaman said, “This new campaign is our way of thanking our loyal customers for their continued support throughout the years as well as for inspiring us to innovate new products and services to excel in our business.”
Furthermore, the bank also offered a new Al Dana Savings Plan, a summer promotion for visa credit cardholders to earn additional Doha Miles on international spend, a personal loan campaign with MetLife’s Future Protect insurance policy and a new car loan campaign. Earlier in the year, Doha Bank launched the 16th edition of its Al Dana Scheme, crowned the final millionaire of Al Dana Savings Scheme’s 15th edition, unveiled the latest release of ‘Doha Bank My Book Qatar’ and felicitated winners of its ‘Qmiles’ and ‘Gold Rush Cards’ campaigns.