Commercial Bank of Qatar Q4 profit jumps 22 percent

Commercial Bank of Qatar Q4 profit jumps 22 percent

CBQ posts 22 pct Q4 profit growth, misses estimates; Full-year net profit of 1.9 bln riyals; Loans and advances grew 24 pct in 2011

January 26, 2012 1:42 by Reuters

Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), the Gulf state’s third-largest lender by market value, reported a 22 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday on increased lending and deposits.

CBQ made a net profit of 376 million riyals ($103.3 million), up from 309 million riyals in the same period last year but trailed analysts’ average forecasts of 444.1 million riyals.

The bank made a full-year net profit of 1.9 billion riyals, it said in a statement.

The bank has proposed a dividend of 6 riyals per share, the statement added.

Loans and advances grew 24 percent to 41.6 billion riyals, compared to 33.6 billion riyals at the end of 2010. Customers’ deposits increased by 4.7 billion riyals to 38 billion riyals, the statement said.

Net provisions for loans and advances increased to 239 million riyals for the year, compared with 167 million riyals in 2010, with net provisions in the fourth quarter in line with those of the same period in 2010.

The bank’s non-performing loan ratio fell to 1.2 percent at the end of 2011 compared with 3.16 percent in the year-earlier period, the statement said.

Impairments on the bank’s investment portfolio stood at 68 million riyals in 2011 versus 128 million riyals in 2010.

“In Qatar we have identified and pursued opportunities to deepen our presence in our domestic market through the leverage of existing relationships and development of new ones, to grow and diversify our loan book and to capitalise on the increase in public and private sector credit demand,” the bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer Andrew Stevens said in the statement.

In August, the lender appointed banks to arrange a $5 billion bond programme, but there has been no further progress on a debt sale so far. The euro medium term notes programme was approved by shareholders in February 2010.

The bank repaid $500 million of floating rate notes issued under its inaugural EMTN programme in October, the statement said.

Banks in Qatar are expected to benefit as the country is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, set to spend heavily on infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.

Earlier this month, Qatar National Bank (QNB), the first major regional lender to report earnings and considered a bellwether for the sector’s performance, posted a 40 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit.

CBQ shares closed up 3.3 percent at 81.60 riyals before the results were announced.

($1=3.638 Qatari riyals) (Reporting by Regan Doherty; Editing by David French)