Ahli United Bank’s profit up 22.2% to US$ 667.3 million

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Ahli United Bank has announced a significant increase in its profits, accompanied by a recommendation from the Board of Directors to distribute a cash dividend of US cents 2.5 per share (2022: US cents 2.5 per share), pending approval at the AUB Annual General Assembly.

Full year Results

The bank’s net profit attributable to its equity shareholders was US$ 667.3 million for the full year 2023. This represents a 22.2% increase over the 2022 reported profit of US$ 546.1 m.

In view of the amalgamation between AUBK and KFH that was completed on 22 February 2024, in accordance with IFRS 5, in AUB’s 2023 financial statements (FS), AUBK has been classified as “Held for Sale”.

Consequently, as required under this standard, AUB’s 2023 reported balance sheet is not consolidated on a line-by-line basis and instead AUBK’s total assets and liabilities are disclosed in one line under assets and liabilities respectively.

However, as per specific IFRS 5 requirements, 2022 comparative figures have not been restated and therefore includes AUBK numbers on a line-by-line basis.

The total financing receivable as at 31 December 2023 is reported as US$ 10.9 billion compared to US$ 21.2bn.

However, the total financing receivables including AUBK’s financing receivables at 31 December 2023 was US$ 21.2bn, unchanged from 2022.

The non-trading investment portfolio is reported as US$ 10.2bn compared to US$ 10.0bn at 31 December 2022.

However, including AUBK’s non-trading-investments balance, overall non trading income showed a strong growth to reach US$ 11.2bn at 31 December 2023.

The increase in financing receivable and non-trading investments was primarily supported by strong growth in customer deposits which increased to US$ 25.9bn (including AUBK’s customer deposits of US$ 11.9bn) as at 31 December 2023 from US$ 24.4 bn in 2022.

The AUB Chairman, Hamad Al-Marzouq commented: “AUB has achieved robust results and sustained its excellent core performance in 2023 driven by its well-managed business model based on diversification and cross border flows seeking the effective deployment of capital resources across the AUB Group’s markets in a prudent and profitable manner.

Our results are attributable to the clearly defined vision of the bank and to the exemplary execution of its business strategies by its dedicated management and staff.”