DOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank’s (QIB) net profit attributable to the shareholders amounted to QR1.4bn for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2015, reflecting a growth of 24.8 percent over the same period of 2014.
Total assets of the bank have also increased by 28 percent compared to December 2014 and now stands at QR123bn, driven by a continued growth in the core financing and investing activities.
QIB’s financing activities now stand at QR82bn having increased by QR22bn representing 38 percent increase compared to December 2014. Customer deposits of the bank have grown by QR20bn to reach QR87bn, representing a growth of 30 percent compared to December 2014.
Total income for the nine-month period reached QR3.3bn, registering a 23 percent growth compared to QR2.7bn for the same period of 2014. Income from financing and investing activities has grown by 24 percent to reach QR2.8bn for the period compared to QR2.3bn for the same period of 2014. Net fee and commission income reached QR345m, representing a 19 percent year-on-year growth.
QIB was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing financing assets to gross financing assets to around 1 percent, one of the lowest in the industry, reflecting the quality of the bank’s financing assets portfolio and its effective risk management framework. The bank continued to pursue the conservative impairment policy with the coverage ratio for non-performing financing portfolio above 100 percent.
Total shareholders’ equity of the bank increased by QR417m compared to December 2014 to reach QR13bn. The bank also raised Basel III compliant Additional Tier 1 Capital by issuing perpetual sukuk for an amount of QR 2bn. Capital adequacy of the bank now stands at 14.2 percent as per Basel III guidelines issued by Qatar Central Bank.
In a report issued in April 2015, the international ratings agency Fitch, has upgraded QIB’s Long Term IDR to ‘A+’ from the previously held ‘A’ with a stable outlook. Capital Intelligence (CI) has rated QIB’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of ‘A’, with ‘Stable’ Outlook in view of the significant improvement in financing asset quality and stabilised return on average assets. Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has retained QIB’s Counterparty Credit Rating at “A-“with a stable outlook.
QIB has received a number of prestigious awards during the first nine months of 2015 reflecting the results and achievements of the bank, including the ‘Islamic Bank of the Year 2015’ award in the Middle East for the first time, and Qatar for the third time in a row by The Banker magazine (part of the Financial Times Group). QIB was also recognised as the fastest growing financial brand in the world, with its brand value rising 91 percent over last year, making the bank one of the top 50 most valuable brands of all industries in the Mena region.
