This included an exceptional gain of US$ 212.9 million on the divestiture of its 29.4% stake in Ahli Bank Qatar (ABQ). Excluding this non-recurring exceptional gain, AUB reported a 9.9% increase in its net profit, which increased from US$ 172.9 million in H1/2012 to US$ 190.1 million. The Q2/2013 profit achieved was US$ 93.2 million, a 7.7% increase over the Q2/2012 quarter reported profit of US$ 86.5 million. The Basic Earnings per Share were US 7.4 cents, compared to US 3.2 cents achieved in H1/2012. The resultant adjusted Operating Basic Earnings per share was US 3.5 cents excluding the exceptional gain.
The operating income of the Group increased from US$ 435.6 million to US$ 450.1 million (+ 3.3%), driven largely by growth in net interest income (NII) by 9.4% to US$ 335.8 million (H1/2012: US$ 306.9 million) and in fee income from US$ 64.0 million to US$ 70.3 million. The NII increase was achieved through a more effective management of funding costs and prudent increase in asset volumes within acceptable risk criteria. The cost income ratio was contained at 30.3% (H1 / 2012: 29.8%).
The Group’s total assets rose by US$ 1.5 billion (+ 5.0%) to US$ 31.4 billion since 31 December 2012. During this period, the Group’s Asset Liability Management focused on enhancing its overall core interest earnings by raising additional customer deposits of US$2.7 billion(+14.9%) to reach US$20.9 billion as at 30 June 2013, while surplus liquidity was used to reduce repo borrowings by US$1.3 billion. On the assets front, the loans portfolio was prudently managed with a growth of US$0.5 billion (+3.4%). The specific provision coverage ratio as at 30 June 2013 stood at 88.1% (31 December 2012: 87.7%). The total provision coverage ratio, inclusive of collective impairment provisions, was 147% as at 30 June 2013 (31 December 2012: 150%).
The Group’s Operating Return on Average Equity for H1/2013, excluding the exceptional gain, stood at 14.0%, compared to 13.1% achieved in H1/2012. Return on Average Assets, on the same basis, was higher at 1.4% for H1/2013 (H1/2012: 1.3%).
“The main highlight of the first half of 2013 was the continuing healthy growth trend in our operating net profits which grew by around 10% reflecting the strength and diversification of the AUB Group business model, Fahad Al-Rajaan, Chairman, AUB, said.
“Building a stronger regional banking platform is integral to our business model which is focused on meeting the local and cross-border needs of our clients in a focused, effective and dynamic manner ,” Fahad Al-Rajaan Chairman, AUB added.