(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Commercial Bank of Qatar (Commercial Bank) and its subsidiaries and associates yesterday announced a net profit of QR462.5m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 showing a rise of 19.5 percent against QR387m in the fourth quarter of 2014.
At the operating profit before provisions level, profit is up by 4.3 percent to QR551.7m as compared to the first quarter of 2014. However, due to higher provisioning, the Q1 (first quarter) 2015 represents a 15.7 percent decrease in profitability compared to same period in 2014.
"Qatar's economy continues to diversify in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. Commercial Bank's results for the first quarter of 2015 reflect the changing dynamics of Qatar's economy, with robust growth being generated from the private sector. The successful execution of Commercial Bank's strategy across its operations in Qatar, Turkey, UAE and Oman has resulted in a strong set of financial results for the first quarter of the year," said Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Commercial Bank.
"Commercial Bank has made a good start to the year 2015 at the operating level. The first quarter has seen a solid performance from Commercial Bank, a good quarter from ABank and continued profit growth from our Associate banks in the UAE and Oman. These performances have enabled Commercial Bank to deliver a quarterly profit of QR 462.5m," said Hussain Alfardan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Commercial Bank.
The Bank's net provisions for loans and advances were QR170.2m for the quarter ended 31 March 2015, up from QR50.8m for the same period in 2014, a low level of provisioning compared to historic levels. The non-performing loan ratio marginally increased to 3.89 percent at March 31, 2015 compared with 3.8 percent at the end of December 2014 and the coverage ratio increased to 76.8 percent as at March 31, 2015 compared to 74.3 percent as at December 2014.
Net operating income increased by 1.8 percent to QR952.2m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 up from QR935.7m achieved in the same period in 2014. ABank delivered net operating income of QR173.3m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 which represents 18.5 percent of the total net operating income. Net interest income was QR625.5m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, 0.8 percent higher than the same period of 2014, reflecting the growth in lending. ABank contributed QR148.7m, 23.8 percent of the total net interest income. Net interest margin decreased to 2.59 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2014 at 2.70 percent.
Non-interest income was up by 3.7 percent to QR326.7m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 compared with QR315m for the same period in 2014. The increase in non-interest income was due to higher net fees and commission income. Commercial Bank delivered a balance sheet growth of 1.8 percent at the end of March 2015 with total assets at QR116.1bn, compared to QR114bn at the end of March 2014.
Loans and advances to customers were up by 4.7 percent to QR71.9bn at March 31, 2015 compared with QR68.7bn at the end of March 2014. The growth in lending since March 2014 has been generated, mainly, in the retail, services, government and commercial sectors. The Peninsula
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