Dubai Islamic Bank annual profits surge 20% to beat estimates

Sharia-compliant lender expects 10 to 15% loan growth in 2018

Dubai Islamic Bank shares surged on the bank's report of a 20 per cent rise in annual profits. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Profits at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the emirate's largest Sharia-compliant lender, rose 20 per cent in 2017, beating analysts' estimates, as the growth of Islamic financing offset higher impairment charges.

The bank reported profits of Dh4.32 billion for the past year, compared with Dh3.6bn for 2016, in a regulatory filing on the Dubai stock exchange. The results are 2 per cent ahead of an average of five analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, exceeding the highest estimate of Dh4.29bn from NBAD Securities.

The banks shares, suspended during the morning ahead of the results announcement, rose by as much as 1.2 per cent, eventually closing up 0.8 per cent at Dh6.60. The bank made no disclosure regarding likely dividend payments for the past year.

Net income rose to Dh1.15bn in the fourth quarter, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent, according to calculations made by The National, again coming in ahead of analyst estimates.

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"The bank has weathered the challenges across the region as well as those emanating from the global economic slowdown extremely well," said Mohammed Al Shaibani, chairman of DIB. "With a more positive outlook forecasted for the UAE and global economy, the coming years look even more promising."

“We remain fully in sync with Dubai and the UAE’s plans in building a diversified and attractive economic hub for Islamic finance that serves to connect the globe from our home base here,” he added.

Net income from Islamic financing rose to Dh7.8bn for the year, a 19.5 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

Impairments for the year rose by 110 per cent year-on-year to Dh823.5 million, but came in below analysts' estimates. DIB's non-performing finance (NPF) ratio dropped 50 basis points during the year to 3.4 per cent.

Speaking on a call with analysts, DIB’s chief executive Adnan Chilwan said the bank is forecasting the NPF ratio to decrease to 3 per cent by the end of 2018, with loans expected to grow 10 to 15 per cent over the coming year.

Mr Chilwan told analysts he did not expect the bank to be impacted by the implementation of IFRS 9 reporting standards from this month onwards, as mandated by the Central Bank of the UAE. Emirates NBD, which announced its results for 2017 on Tuesday, said the implementation of the reporting standards would have an impact this coming year.