CBI Q1 profit doubles to Dh66m

Commercial Bank International (CBI) on Monday reported a net profit of Dh66.1 million in the first quarter of this year as compared to Dh31.8 million in Q1 2011, an increase of 108 per cent. Assets grew by Dh451 million to Dh11.9 billion as of March 31, 2012. Customer deposits during the 1st quarter increased 6.4 per cent to Dh9 billion, while net loans and advances to customers increased by 3.25 per cent to Dh8.1 billion. Kris Babicci, Chief Executive Officer of CBI, said: “We have seen improved performance and volume growth over last year and results are in line with our plan for the year. We expect the trend to continue. We are optimistic in our outlook and are working to enhance our value propositions and service offerings to our customers. Our focus remains on the management of risk and a rigorous approach to cost management”. In the past year, CBI strengthened its balance sheet with strong capital adequacy, high liquidity and low advances to deposits ratio. CBI’s capital adequacy ratio remained strong at 16.7 per cent and maintained a comfortable liquidity position of Dh1.3 billion at the end of March 31, 2012.  Advances to stable resources ratio was maintained at 0.88:1 as to the Central Bank of the UAE requirement of 1:1. Mohammad Sultan Al Qadi, Chairman of Commercial Bank International, said: “The board has great confidence in the management team and in less than a year, the strategy has started to show impressive results. The earnings per share increased 104.4 per cent to Dh0.047 this quarter compared to the first quarter of 2011. We anticipate that this growth will continue at the same rate until at least the end of 2012.” In Q1 2012, CBI launched a new home loan product for its retail customers and rearranged its savings account awards programme ‘Mabrook’ by dedicating AED 1.5 million to be won during 2012. The bank’s distribution network comprises 17 branches across the UAE and 101 ATMs.