Abu Dhabi First Bank profits rise 6% on business growth, strong revenues

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s net profit rose nearly 6% year-on-year to AED 4.16 billion in the first quarter of this year, driven by business growth, a strong balance sheet and higher interest margins.

The largest bank in the UAE said in a statement published on its official website that operating revenues increased to nearly 8 billion dirhams in the first three months of this year, recording an increase of 18%, and the bank also boosted unfunded revenues, which contributed 39% of the total.

The bank added that net interest income rose slightly to AED 4.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared to AED 4.03 billion in the same period of 2023, adding that these results reflect the limited impact of the corporate tax that was recently adopted in the UAE.

The bank said that the value of total assets reached 1.24 trillion dirhams ($363 billion) at the end of last March, while loans recorded 508 billion dirhams, and deposits 803 billion dirhams; the highest in the bank’s history.

Abu Dhabi First reaps strong revenues

Investment banking revenues also increased by 26% year-on-year to AED 2.8 billion, while corporate and commercial banking recorded revenues of AED 1.8 billion, up 6% compared to the same period last year.

The Global Markets segment achieved a growth of 29% compared to revenues for the same period last year, reaching AED 1.9 billion, while personal banking services revenues increased by 37% year-on-year to reach AED 1.1 billion.

International Banking

International Private Banking recorded a 12% year-on-year revenue growth to AED 308 million. Domestic operations revenues increased by 14% to AED 5.9 billion, while international operations grew by 33% year-on-year to AED 2 billion.

The bank also said it provided financing facilities worth AED 26 billion ($7 billion) for sustainable projects in the first quarter of the year. With this, the bank has provided more than AED 150 billion ($41 billion) to date, or 30% of its target of lending, investing and providing sustainable financing facilities worth $136 billion (AED 500 billion) by 2030.

Commenting on these results, Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank, said in the statement: The bank continues to record strong revenues compared to last year, supported by business expansion and growth across all sectors, which contributed to strengthening our financial foundations and the group’s assets exceeding the threshold of AED 1.2 trillion.