DOHA: Masraf Al Rayan has posted a net profit of QR998m during the first half of 2015, an increase of 10.46 percent compared to QR904m for the same period in 2014.
Dr Hussain Al Abdulla, the Chairman and Managing Director of Masraf Al Rayan, described the results as “satisfactory, in the face of the exceptional circumstances represented by low oil prices and a series of regional and global political and economic events that have had a negative impact on the markets in addition to decisions made by some major clients in the second quarter of this year to early settle their finances prior to maturity”.
Adel Mustafawi, Group Chief Executive Officer at Masraf Al Rayan said: The results are in line with the Management projection given the current market circumstances”. He described the results as a clear demonstration of the bank’s ability to overcome many difficulties to achieve better results, whereas total assets reached QR81.31bn compared to QR74bn as of June 30, 2014, a growth of 9.57 percent.
The bank’s return on Assets kept its outpost within the local financial market to be one of the highest at 2.45 percent. Return on shareholders’ equity reached 18.09 percent compared to 17.56 percent on June 30, 2014. Earnings per share reached QR1.331 compared to QR1.205 on June 30, 2014.
Masraf Al Rayan sustained its strategy to develop new products and services to better serve all types of its client base, by offering high quality and flexibility in line with the best international banking practices.
Masraf Al Rayan has completed some important milestones in its quest to get the necessary regulatory approvals for its pronounced exchange traded fund (ETF), as scheduled in phase one, trading Shariah-compliant stocks on Qatar Exchange wherein tracking Al Rayan Islamic Index, nevertheless, deferred the process to acquire similar approvals for its Shariah-compliant sukuk trading fund (income generating fund), for investment in fixed income markets with target yield exceeding earnings from deposit accounts and shall be distributed annually to investors. It was early announced that Al Rayan Investment LLC (ARI) will manage the operation both funds.