Emirates NBD profit up 20% to AED10bn

Bloomberg

Emirates NBD PJSC reported a better-than-expected increase in full-year profit as lending rose and loan loss charges fell at Dubai’s biggest bank.
The 2018 full-year net income reached AED10.04 billion ($2.73 billion), an increase of 20 percent from AED8.35 billion the previous year. The total income amounted to AED17.4 billion.
The bank’s net interest income and the non-interest income reached AED12.9 billion and AED4.51 billion respectively.
“Margins widened 35 bps in 2018 as rate rises flowed through to the loan book which more than offset a rise in funding costs,” said Emirates NBD Group Chief Executive Officer Shayne Nelson said. “The group’s balance sheet remains healthy with a further strengthening in capital coupled with strong liquidity and stable credit quality.”
The impairment allowances reached AED1.75 billion, while loans hit AED327.9 billion.
Deposits at the lender rose to AED347.9 billion from AED326.5 billion the previous year. Similarly the net interest margin reached 2.82 percent from 2.47 percent and impaired loan ratio hit 5.9 percent.
The Dubai Stock Index shares rose 1.1 percent in the past 30 days. Emirates NBD trades at 5.2 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year. The company’s dividend yield is 4.4 percent on a trailing 12-month basis and 4.4 percent based on Bloomberg dividend forecasts for the next 12 months.
The analyst consensus one-year price target for the company is AED14.78, for a potential return of 64 percent. Analysts raised the target by 6.7 percent in the past three months.