Dubai – Mubasher: Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, on Monday announced it has recorded a net profit of AED 1.76 billion for the first nine months of 2019, up 0.5% year-on-year.
Total operating income decreased by 1.5% to AED 4.526 billion during the nine-month period ended 30 September 2019, versus AED 4.594 billion in the year-ago period, Mashreq said in a press release.
The banking company also added it has achieved an operating profit of AED 2.533 billion during the same period, down 4.3% from AED 2.647 billion in the prior-year period.
Earnings per share stood at AED 9.90 during the January-September period of 2019, compared to AED 9.85 in the corresponding period of 2018.
Mashreq’s impairment allowance dropped by 15.9% year-on-year during the nine-month period of this year to AED 705 million from AED 838 million.
Total assets rose by 5% to AED 146.87 billion at the end of September, compared to AED 139.93 billion as at 31 December 2018.
Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq, said: “The bank’s solid market performance has enabled us to record a healthy net profit of AED 1.8 billion. Notably, we continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet as well as strong liquidity, with our Capital adequacy ratio and tier 1 capital ratios continuing to be significantly higher than the regulatory limit - standing at 16.8% and 15.6% respectively.”
“As we continue to implement our digital transformation strategy, we remain focused on improving the banking experience for all our customers through on-going investments in digitization and technology. In particular, the launch of Mashreq’s Neo-Biz is the latest example of how the bank is leveraging innovation to offer a seamless experience to our business customers. The initiative is also geared towards supporting the vital SME ecosystem, which has historically been the backbone of the UAE economy,” he highlighted.
Al Ghurair further noted that Mashreq has signed a strategic tripartite agreement with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and norbloc, to launch the region’s first production-ready blockchain KYC data-sharing consortium in 2020.
This consortium will further bolster businesses and corporates in Dubai, in line with the UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021, he indicated.
“As we approach the last quarter of the year, the bank remains well poised to deliver on the successes exhibited during the first nine months of the year. We will continue to implement on our successful strategy built around providing an excellent customer experience, as well as leveraging the latest technological innovations to offer best in class products and services in line with evolving customer needs,” Al Ghurair added.
