Dubai / Reuters
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the United Arab Emirates’ largest sharia-compliant lender, posted a 26 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, in line with analysts’ forecasts, according to Reuters calculations.
DIB made AED1.15 billion ($313.1 million) in the three months to December 31, Reuters calculated from annual statements in the absence of a quarterly breakdown. This compares with a profit of 916.1 million dirhams in the corresponding period of 2016. The average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters was for DIB to make a quarterly profit of AED1.06 billion.
In an investor presentation, the bank said it was targeting loan growth of between 10 and 15 percent in 2018, the same target it set
for 2017. The bank’s loan growth reached 16 percent in 2017, a level ahead of many of its competitors.