Qatari Lender Masraf Al Rayan Lifts Quarterly Profit By 23%

Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s largest Islamic lender by market value, reported a 22.6 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter, falling short of analysts’ forecasts.

Qatari banks have benefited from the knock-on effects of the state’s heavy investment in infrastructure and preparations to host the 2022 World Cup, though intense domestic competition has prompted many banks to seek expansion abroad to enhance their earnings potential.

Masraf Al Rayan took a majority stake in Islamic Bank of Britain in February and had been targeting a strategic stake in a Libyan commercial bank until political conditions worsened, prompting it to delay the plans last month.

The bank’s net profit for the three months to Sept. 30 was QAR526 million ($143.3 million), against QAR429 million a year earlier, according to Reuters’ calculations from a company statement.

The average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters was for net profit of QAR529.4 million.

Net profit for the nine months to Sept. 30 was QAR1.43 billion, compared with QAR1.25 billion in the same period a year ago, a bourse filing said.