Emirates NBD’s Profits Surge 67% in Q1 of 2024

The profits of Dubai-headquartered lender Emirates NBD surged 67% to a record $1.82 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter and up a strong 12% y-o-y, propelled by regional growth, increased transaction volumes, a low-cost funding base and substantial impaired loan recoveries.

The Group’s asset base surpassed $245.04 billion as retail lending had its strongest ever quarter and Corporate lending closed landmark deals across the region, the bank said in a filing with Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Thursday.

The branch presence in Saudi Arabia more than doubled to 18 branches over the last year and we refreshed our Egyptian franchise, as our enhanced international footprint and digital capabilities drove further growth.

Emirates NBD’s market-leading deposit franchise grew $7.08 billion in Q1 of 2024, with customer campaigns, digital banking and promotions delivering a remarkable $5.72 billion increase in low-cost current and savings accounts.

Credit quality improved significantly, and the Group registered an impairment credit on regularisation of payments as clients benefited from a buoyant economy. All business units delivered an outstanding performance. Retained earnings boosted capital ratios and the rock-solid balance sheet makes Emirates NBD a regional powerhouse, providing the platform for future growth, Emirates NBD said.

Q1-2024’s Key Highlights

Total income up 3% q-o-q to $2.91 billion on excellent deposit mix, solid loan growth and strong fee & commission growth across all business segments and 5% asset growth as balance sheet surpasses $245.04 billion milestone.

Solid loan growth, up 2.3% in the first quarter on record $2.45 billion retail financing with corporate gross lending up $6.53 billion as landmark deals across the region were successfully closed

While net interest margin remains very strong at 3.52%, impairment credit of $245.04 million on regularisation of loan payments as clients benefit from a buoyant economy with impaired loan ratio improving to 4.4%.

Eminates NBD’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim said that Emirates NBD’s profit surged 67% to a record AED 6.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024, propelled by regional growth, increased transaction volumes, a low-cost funding base and substantial impaired loan recoveries.

Emirates Islamic celebrated 20-years of providing innovative Sharia’h compliant banking to over 650,000 customers across the UAE, as it delivered a record profit of $220.81 million in Q1-2024, he said.

“In support of the Government of Dubai’s ‘Dubai International Growth Initiative’, we have allocated $136.13 million of competitively priced financing to Dubai based SMEs to facilitate their global expansion,” he said.

Group CEO Shayne Nelson said that the Group reached a major milestone as the asset base grew 5% in the first quarter to surpass the $245.04 900 billion mark for the first time.

“Our leading IT architecture enabled us to on-board all UAE retail banking & wealth management customers onto our award winning ‘ENBD X’ and ‘EI +’ mobile banking apps, which integrates our digital wealth platform, making it a convenient and secure one-stop, complete banking services solution,” he added.

Group Chief Financial Officer Patrick Sullivan said that quarterly profit reached a record $1.82 billion in the first quarter of 2024, on higher income coupled with an impairment credit.

Outlook

The non-oil sector growth in the UAE and Saudi Arabia remained resilient in the first quarter of 2024, driven largely by domestic demand and Emirates NBD Research expects non-oil growth to remain relatively robust this year, underpinned by continued investment and consumption.

“In the wider MENAT region, the IMF has approved the first and second reviews of Egypt’s Extended Fund Facility and increased the size of the facility, while Turkiye continues to take policy measures to help address inflation. We have not seen an adverse impact on the operating environment from geopolitical developments in the region, but remain mindful of the potential risks,” Emirates NBD added.