Dubai’s Emirates NBD Q2 net profit rises 6%

Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, reported a net profit of AED 2.02 billion for the second quarter of 2017, a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase.

Profit for the first half of the year rose 5 percent YoY to AED 3.9 billion, due to loan growth and helped by a recent improvement in margins, the bank said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

Total income for the first half came in at AED 7.5 billion, a decline of 3 percent YoY due to lower gains from the sale of investments.

Impaired loan ratio improved to 6.1 percent, while the impaired loan coverage ratio strengthened to 123.5 percent, the bank said.

“The group’s balance sheet continued to strengthen (in H1) with improved capital and credit quality ratios and liquidity ratios were comfortably maintained within management’s target range,” Shayne Nelson, group CEO, said in the statement.

The bank plans to invest AED 1 billion over the next three years in to its digital transformation program, Nelson added.