UAE’s biggest bank FAB reports 63% jump in Q4 net profit

UAE’s biggest bank FAB reports 63% jump in Q4 net profit

The UAE’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) posted a Q4 2023 net profit of 4 billion dirhams ($1.09 million), up 63% year-on-year (YoY) as operating income grew due to business volumes and improved margins.

For FY 2023, the bank made a net profit of AED 16.4 billion, 22% higher YoY, or 56% higher on an underlying basis when excluding gains from the sale of stake in subsidiaries, according to the lender's statement on Thursday on Abu Dhabi's ADX exchange where its shares trade.

The quarterly profit far exceeded analysts’ mean estimates for both the quarter and the full year. For Q4 they had pencilled in AED3.67 billion, while for FY the estimate was AED15.3 billion, according to LSEG data.

Net interest income for Q4 was AED4.7 billion, up 12% YoY, as the benefits of higher benchmark rates kicked in. Net interest margin (NIM) was at 1.89% for the quarter.

For the fourth quarter, impairment charges were up 10%, mainly due to the downgrade of Egypt’s credit rating, the bank noted.

Lars Kramer, FAB Group CFO said: “These are a very strong set of results. Group revenue and net profit reached new record highs and performance was consistent across our core business segments... The