EIB returns back into black

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB), one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the region, returned back into black in the first quarter posting net profit of Dh17 million as compared to Dh20m loss for the same period last year. Its operating profits rose to Dh138 million at the close of the first quarter of 2012. This is a 56 per cent and 68 per cent growth over Q1 and Q4 2011, respectively. The results see Emirates Islamic Bank deliver its highest operating profit for the past two years. Total net income rose to Dh228 million for Q1 2012, a 21 per cent increase from the same period one year ago. Likewise, customer accounts grew by 5 per cent during the first quarter of 2012, while assets grew by 13 per cent from year-end, 2011. “The first-quarter results represent an extremely positive start to the year for us and we believe are a strong indicator for the remainder,” said Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic Bank. “These results have proven to be a key milestone on our growth journey. They reflect decisive measures taken in Q4 of last year, which have enabled us to emerge stronger and more profitable, carrying us into the second quarter in great shape.” Following its change of Board and management in October 2011, Emirates Islamic Bank has embarked on an aggressive three-year growth strategy, which has started to pay off. Emirates Islamic Bank has capital adequacy ratio of 18 per cent, with cost-to-income ratio greatly improving to 40 per cent.