DOHA: Barwa Bank’s net profit soared by four percent to reach QR209m for the first quarter of 2015 (Q1, 15), compared to QR201m recorded during the same period in 2014.
This robust growth was reflected across the bank’s balance sheet and verticals.
The bank’s total assets jumped by 24 percent to QR40.5bn on year-on-year basis, underpinned by significant growth in Barwa Bank’s financing portfolio, which itself registered an increase of 22 percent to exceed QR25.1bn.
Customer deposits strongly stands at QR21.1bn, while earnings per share rose to QR0.70 in Q1, 2015 from QR0.66 in the first quarter of 2014.
Sheikh Mohamad bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (pictured), Chairman at Barwa Bank Group, commented: “While the region’s economic and financial landscape is undergoing transformative changes that are reshaping our sector, we’ve seen this dynamic environment positively challenge our drive and determination to grow and expand our presence in the Qatari market and beyond.
“Our performance in the first quarter of 2015 is a reflection of this focused growth strategy; while several landmark deals and partnerships that we had closed in 2014 offered us a head-start into this year, our Q1 results demonstrate Barwa Bank’s commitment to long-term, carefully studied and cautiously progressive growth to both our group and our key stakeholders.”
Khalid Yousef Al Subeai, Acting Group CEO added: “Underlining our growth strategy over the past few years and going forward is an uncompromising stance on strong profitability and solid revenue stream. We’ve poured focused and great efforts and investments into ensuring that our growth and expansion would not be at the expense of our P&L balances.
“Our revenues increased by 6 percent and our expenses were reduced by 4 percent during the first quarter of this year, bringing our cost-revenue ratio down to 38 percent from 42 percent in 2014. In parallel, our non-performing assets accounted for 1.6 percent of the total financing portfolio, down from 1.9 percent for the same period in 2014. As we continue to undertake ambitious projects and expansion plans, our priority remains on maintaining a healthy growth trajectory with long-term, solid prospects.”
