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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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
How to help or find other cats to adopt
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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Price: From Dh192,500
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dunki
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