FGB reports Dh715 million net profit in nine months

The financial results were announced yesterday after the Board of Directors meeting chaired by Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs. The Board of Directors approved the proposal of increasing the Bank's foreign ownership to 30 per cent, which will be presented in the next EGM for approval. “We recorded a Net Profit increase of 102 per in the year 2004 and expect a growth of over 300 per cent by year end 2005. We are expanding our business networks and capturing new markets. We are also focusing on providing unique financial solutions in line with the economic growth and varied business requirements,” said Abudulhamid Saeed, Chief Executive Officer of First Gulf Bank. The financial indicators show an increase of 86 per cent in Loans & Advances from Dh6.1billion in Q3 2004 to Dh11.3 billion by end of Q3 this year. Total Assets were up by 203 per cent from Dh8.2 billion to Dh25 billion. Customer Deposits have also increased by 163 per cent from Dh6.1billion to Dh16.1 billion. With the increase in the Bank's Capital, the Shareholders Equity increased to Dh7.4 billion from Dh1.7 billion (September 2004) making FGB the largest equity based bank in the UAE.

The Total Operating Income recorded 228 per cent increase to Dh947 million compared to Dh292 million in the first nine months of 2004. The Bank has also maintained a consistent ratio of 60:40 between Net Interest Income and Other Income. Earnings per share reached Dh 0.72 in the first nine months this year compared to Dh0.61 for the year of 2004.