First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE's largest lender by assets, reported a nearly 5 per cent annual increase in its third-quarter net profit on rising international revenue growth.
Net profit for the three months to the end of September climbed to Dh4.46 billion ($1.2 billion), the lender said on Friday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Net interest income during the quarter rose about 5 per cent annually to Dh4.3 billion, while net fee and commission income surged 40.5 per cent to Dh1 billion. Net income from Islamic financing and investing products also increased by nearly 26 per cent during the period.
The bank reported a 12 per cent revenue growth in the UAE and 33 per cent revenue growth from its international franchise, which now represents 22 per cent of the group’s total, “with further increases in both assets and liabilities”, it said in a statement.
“Strong business momentum supported by robust economic conditions were reflected in volume growth, rising revenues and diversified income streams, as we continue to leverage our diversified franchise to deepen client relationships,” Lars Kramer, group chief financial officer of FAB, said.
“Our international franchise, in particular, has played an important role in delivering diversified sources of growth.”
FAB, created through the merger of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank in 2017, has actively been pursuing acquisitions in the broader Mena region for the past few years.
In June 2022, FAB completed the merger of Bank Audi Egypt with its Egyptian operations, consolidating its market position in the most populous Arab country. The combined entity, which operates as FABMISR, is one of the largest foreign banks in the Egyptian market, with assets in excess of $10 billion.
FAB also offered to acquire 51 per cent of the issued shares of EFG Hermes, Egypt’s largest investment bank, in February 2022. However, it withdrew the offer in April the same year, due to “global market uncertainty and volatile macroeconomic conditions”, FAB said in a statement at the time.
The lender is open to acquisition opportunities in the Mena region and in markets beyond as long as the deals make commercial sense and create value, its chief executive Hana Al Rostamani told The National last year.
The bank's growth also comes as the UAE's economy continues to grow amid diversification efforts. The UAE Central Bank last month revised its 2024 gross domestic product forecast to 4 per cent, from its June estimate of 3.9 per cent, on the back of non-oil sector growth.
Growth will also be supported by global economic agreements, the regulator said in its quarterly economic review report in September.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy reported a record Dh1.4 trillion in non-oil foreign trade in the first six months of this year amid new comprehensive economic partnership agreements, according to official figures.
FAB's loans, advances and Islamic financing during the three-month period grew 10 per cent annually to Dh528 billion, while customer deposits grew 4 per cent year-on-year to Dh820 billion, according to the statement. Total assets climbed 4 per cent to Dh1.2 trillion.
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Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
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Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
