First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) today announced that the Group's net profit amounted to AED10.9 billion in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 19% compared to the same period last year with annualised earnings per share at AED1.29.
In a statement on Wednesday, the bank said that the total income reached AED18 billion, up 13% yoy, driven by 18% growth in net interest income. Total income for the nine months includes an AED3.1 billion net gain on the sale of a stake in Magnati.
The statement added,
"Impairment charges (net) at AED1.7 billion, 11% lower yoy; implying an annualised cost of risk at 52 basis points improving from 65 bps in the prior period.
“Operating costs at AED4.7 billion, up 6% yoy excluding Bank Audi Egypt inclusion, reflect ongoing investments to drive growth and transformation.”
Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB, commented,
“Our results in the first nine months of 2022 demonstrate excellent progress in our strategy to drive growth across our franchise, while underlining the resilience of regional economies against an increasingly challenging global backdrop. We produced a record net profit, reflecting the strong underlying performance of our core businesses.
"Our robust balance sheet fundamentals are enabling us to pursue our growth and transformation journey both regionally and in the UAE. In Egypt, we have completed our integration activities which will enable us to unlock new opportunities for our growing base in one of our priority markets.
"With structural market shifts and increasingly sophisticated client needs continuing to shape our focus, we are proud to reaffirm our regional leadership position as a trusted advisor to our clients while also delivering a digital-first, best-in-class offering to customers.
“FAB continues to be recognised as the Middle East’s safest bank while also improving our ranking as the 14th safest commercial bank in the world. This is an important recognition of our long-term adherence to the strongest standards of safety and stability.”
For his part, James Burdett, Group Chief Financial Officer, said,
“The Group generated a net profit of AED2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2022, up 12% sequentially on an underlying basis, bringing bottom line for the nine months to a record AED10.9 billion.
"Underlying operating performance continues to be strong with Q3’22 revenue up 10% sequentially, supported by positive momentum across core businesses, increased client flow and cross-sell in Global Markets, and the impact of higher interest rates as we continue to significantly benefit from the shift in the rates cycle.
"During the period, our strategic initiatives led to continued growth in CASA balances with nearly AED100 billion customer deposit inflows underlining our unique role as an aggregator of liquidity. Group liquidity position strengthened with Group LCR at 171%, while Group CET1 improved sequentially to 13.1%, owing to strong capital generation and the positive outcome of our ongoing efforts to optimise risk-weighted assets.
"The recent reaffirmation of our AA- credit rating by Fitch is a strong testament to our superior business and credit profile, and our robust fundamentals."
News Source: Emirates News Agency
