Bank ABC Islamic today announced that its net profit for the first quarter of year 2016 was US$4.4 million, 27% lower compared to a record profit of US$6.1 million reported for the same period last year, but mainly due to a one off. It compares favourably to the fourth quarter 2015 which recorded profit of US$3.6 million 2015, this achieving a rise of 22%.

Total margin income for the quarter was US$5.1 million, compared with US$.5.2 million reported in the first quarter of last year. Fee, Commission and sale of investments were lower by $1.4 million in 2016 due to the same one-off in 2015. Operating expenses were marginally higher at US$1.7 million, compared with US$ 1.6million for the same period last year.

Shareholders’ equity at 31 March 2016 stood at US$288 million, compared to US$283 million at 2015 year-end. The bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 28.5%.

ABC Islamic Bank’s total assets stood at US$1.361 billion at the end of the first quarter compared to US$1.344 billion at 2015 year-end.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Naveed Khan, Managing Director of ABC Islamic Bank said, “The first quarter of the year has been a challenging one, as the regional economic slowdown required proactive de-risking of the Bank’s balance sheet, with prudent pruning in the Contracting and Real-Estate sectors. Despite such pre-emptive measures the Bank retained similar margin income levels as 2015 with only a marginal increase in expenses. While the economic outlook for the region remains subdued, we take some comfort that the pro-active steps taken for de-risking will result in a stable asset portfolio.”