PHOTO
First Abu Dhabi Bank headquarters. Image courtesy: FAB
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest lender by market capitalisation, on Tuesday reported a Q1 2025 net profit of 5.13 billion dirhams ($1.39 billion) up 23% year-on-year (YoY).
The profit beat analysts' mean estimate of AED 4.24 billion, according to LSEG data.
"Favorable performance across line-items, while the earnings boost being driven by higher fee income and improving asset quality," Chiradeep Ghosh, banking analyst at Bahrain-based SICO Bank, told Zawya.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in at AED 0.44 versus AED 0.35 in the year-ago period.
Operating income grew 11% to AED 8.81 billion, “largely offsetting the impact of the increase in UAE corporate tax during the period,” said Lars Kramer, Group Chief Financial Officer of FAB.
Loans and deposits grew 8% and 4% respectively YoY, while impairment charges fell 29%.
Net interest income rose 3% to AED 5 billion, while non-interest income climbed 22% to AED 3.8 billion. Net fee and commission income rose to AED 1.20 billiion versus AED 981 million in the year-ago period.
Total assets grew 6% YoY crossing the AED 1.3 trillion milestone for the first time.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
