Dubai’s Emirates NBD records AED 12.5 billion net profit in Q3 2019

Bloomberg/Duncan Chard

Emirates NBD has a reported 63 per cent increase in Q3 2019 net profit to AED 12.5 billion ($3.4 billion), helped by an AED 4.4 billion stake sale in its card payments processing unit, Network International. 

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emirates NBD, said, “Emirates NBD delivered a strong set of results in the first nine months of 2019.”

The bank is seeking to raise AED 6.45 billion from a rights share offering as it expands abroad and courts more foreigners to its stock.

Emirates NBD stated, following the acquisition of DenizBank, the lender’s core operating profit increased by five per cent year-on-year, supported by a 17 per cent increase in net interest income on loan growth and a 31 per cent increase in non-interest income from higher foreign exchange and credit card income.

“The bank successfully completed the acquisition of DenizBank in the third quarter of 2019, this represents a significant milestone for Emirates NBD, expanding our presence to 13 countries and establishing Emirates NBD as a leading Bank in the MENAT region with over 14 million customers,” said Al Qassim.

Total income for the first nine months of 2019 amounted to AED 15.54 billion, a 20 per cent increase compared with AED 12.9 billion during the same period last year. Similarly, net-interest income improved 17 per cent year on year or eight per cent excluding DenizBank supported by loan growth.

The bank said that its operating costs in 9M 2019 reached AED 4,71 million, an increase of 14 per cent compared to 2018 due to an increase in staff and operating costs relating to international expansion. The Dubai-based bank said that the cost to income ratio at 30.3 per cent is within guidance however the lender remains firmly focused on cost controls as we face pressure on income due to falling interest rates.

Emirates NBD has hired Patrick Sullivan from Standard Chartered as its new Group Chief Financial Officer. Sullivan will assume the role from 1 January 2019, replacing Surya Subramanian who will leave Emirates NBD after about nine years with the bank.

The lender unveiled its online bank for SMEs, entrepreneurs, and start-ups as the bank invests in digital transformation to address challenges faced by new businesses. E20. is Emirates NBD’s second digital bank, following the success of Liv., the UAE’s first lifestyle-based digital bank for millennials and Gen-Z launched in 2017.