Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) yesterday reported a net profit of QR177m for the first quarter of this year (QI, 2020) witnessing a marginal increase against QR176m for the same period last year. The bank’s net operating income increased by 9 percent to QR315m for the first three months of this year compared to QR289m during the same period in 2019.
Operating expenses reached QR82m, resulting in a cost/ income ratio of 26 percent. While loans and deposits increased by 2.6 percent and 6.8 percent year-on-year, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio at quarter-end stood at a healthy 17.5 percent. Earnings per share of QR0.05 were similar to the first quarter of 2019. During the current reporting period, the bank recorded a total assets of QR56.12bn and total deposits of QR28.81bn.
Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director at al khaliji, said: “al khaliji’s results for the first quarter of 2020 embody the resilience of our business. We announce these results as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most important challenges of our lifetimes. Our bank has taken the necessary steps to continue serving our customers with minimum disruption, in a safe and secure environment.
The health and well-being of our employees, clients, investors and community remains a high priority, and the bank will ensure continuity of services keeping this priority at the forefront. We hope the severity of this pandemic reduces soon and life returns to normality”. Fahad Al Khalifa, al khaliji’s Group Chief Executive Officer, added: “We ended the first quarter of 2020 expanding balance sheet and growing operating income
At the same time, we remain prudent and took necessary risk management steps, which included enhancing our provisions, and keeping close control over operating costs, enabling us to deliver a net profit of QR177m. With a strong capital base, good liquidity, provision coverage and efficient control of costs, we are well placed to face the current challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, in accordance with the directives of H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and guidelines issued by the Qatar Central Bank, we are working with our customers in effected sectors to see how best to accommodate their situation.
In the present economic environment, we continue to maintain focus, monitoring each of our business lines, and remain in close contact with our customer to ensure we take appropriate responses in time to protect the interests of all stakeholders.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the entire al khaliji team for their efforts in continuing to work with the highest level of professionalism, and I pray for everyone’s wellbeing.
