ADCB Q2 Profit Beats Estimates

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s (ADCB) second quarter profit topped forecasts on Tuesday thanks partly to steeply lower provisions.

The United Arab Emirates’ third biggest lender by market value posted net profit of Dhs733 million ($199.6 million) for the three months ended June 30, down from Dhs1.3 billion in the prior-year period.

In the second quarter last year, ADCB booked a $357-million one-time gain on the sale of its 25-per cent stake in Malaysia’s RHB Capital to Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments.

Analysts had forecast average profit of Dhs679.5 million, according to a Reuters poll.

ADCB, nearly 60 per cent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, saw a 34 per cent year-on-year growth in net income and Islamic financing income in the second quarter, with the Dhs1.38 billion outstripping the Dhs1.04 billion made in 2011.

The bank also posted strong second-quarter operating income growth, up 24 per cent over the prior-year period.

Impairment allowances for the second quarter totalled Dhs492 million, ADCB said in a statement, down 47 per cent from the corresponding period in 2011.

Compared to the end of 2011, deposits were up two per cent at Dhs111.2 billion but loans and advances were down one per cent at Dhs123.5 billion.

ADCB’s lending growth will remain muted at two to three per cent in 2012 as the bank looks at deleveraging its balance sheet owing to the lack of lending opportunities and a focus on better quality loans, Bahraini investment bank SICO said in a research note published June 21.

In a recent note affirming ADCB’s rating at A+, Fitch noted the high probability of support for the lender from UAE authorities if needed.

Half-year profits stood at Dhs1.54 billion compared to Dhs1.92 billion in the first half of 2011, skewed by the RHB sale.

Shares in ADCB, which were halted pending the results on Tuesday, have risen 21.6 per cent year-to-date outperforming the main Abu Dhabi index which is up 2.8 per cent.