Islamic bank's income declines

Dubai lender reports drop of 33 per cent in the second quarter

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the UAE's largest Islamic lender, yesterday reported a 33.9 per cent decline in second-quarter income as loan defaults and shaky markets continued to weigh on profits. The bank reported Dh145.9 million (US$39.7m) of provisions for impaired loans in the second quarter, up from Dh135.4m in the same period last year. DIB also revealed a 38 per cent drop in income not related to Islamic loans - a broad classification that includes investments in stock and property markets - and a decline in overall profits to Dh302m.

The lower profits come as banks across the country grapple with a rise in bad loans and try to show financial strength by competing for customer deposits and restraining lending. DIB's Islamic loans increased slightly in the first half of the year, although deposits grew at a faster pace. "The major factor has been, to a certain extent, provisioning [for an anticipated rise in bad loans] and lower non-interest income," said Murad Ansari, an EFG-Hermes banking analyst. "Compared to where things were last year, the gains related to trading and property markets have come off quite significantly."

More than most banks in the UAE, DIB has been enmeshed in local property and stock markets both as a direct investor and as a provider of loans for companies and individuals to invest. It owns about 20 per cent of Tamweel, the Islamic mortgage company that has been in drawn-out merger talks with Amlak Finance, another Islamic mortgage finance company, since late 2008. It also owns 40 per cent of Deyaar, the Dubai property developer that recently posted Dh243m of losses for the second quarter.

As the value of its investments fell, DIB's income from direct property financing also decreased to Dh59.9m from Dh89.6m in the second quarter of last year. "It reflects the state of markets, both the equity markets as well as the property market," Mr Ansari said. "Both have been weak in the last quarter and over the last year. Property prices have come off, equity prices have come off and that has impacted the revenues banks have made from these markets, DIB in particular. The property side was a relatively large source of income for them."

DIB did not disclose the value of loans that are past-due or reveal its provisioning strategy for Dubai World debt. Dubai World, one of the emirate's largest government-owned conglomerates, is in the final stages of a $23.5 billion debt restructuring that is expected to result in additional loan loss provisions later this year. Mohammed al Shaibani, DIB's chairman and the director general of the Dubai Ruler's Court, pointed to growth in the bank's retail and corporate banking division as proof of "the strength and robustness of our business strategy during the current economic scenario". The bank said second-quarter profits were up compared with the first quarter of this year, although analysts say comparisons to the same quarter of the previous year are more relevant because they eliminate seasonal fluctuations.

The results "show clearly that the bank remains on a growth trajectory during a period of ongoing challenges for the financial services sector worldwide", Mr al Shaibani said. DIB was the last of the UAE's banks to report second-quarter results, disclosing them on the deadline set by the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, which regulates local stock markets. DIB is listed on the Dubai Financial Market.

Adding in DIB's numbers, publicly listed lenders in the UAE made a cumulative Dh3.87bn in the second quarter, down by 25.6 per cent from the same period last year. DIB's stock price closed unchanged yesterday at Dh1.87 per share. [e-mail]