QNB Group reported a net profit of QR6.7bn ($1.8bn) for first six months of 2017 ended June 30, up by 7 percent compared to last year.
Earnings per share reached QR7.0 ($1.91), compared to QR6.7($1.85) in June 2016, while total equity increased by 1 percent from June 2016 to reach QR74bn ($20bn) as at June 30, 2017.
Total assets reached QR768bn ($211bn), up by 11 percent from June 2016, the highest ever achieved by the group, this was driven by a growth rate of 11 percent in loans and advances to reach QR552bn ($152bn).
QNB Group was successful in attracting new customer deposits, these deposit mobilisation efforts resulted in increased customer funding by 15 percent to reach QR562bn ($154bn) from June 2016.
The groups prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability helped to improve the efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) to 29.3 percent as at June 30, 2017, from 30.4 percent in June 2016, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.
The group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.8 percent, a level considered one of the lowest amongst financial institutional in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, reflecting the high quality of the groups loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The groups conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 110 percent in June 30 2017.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) calculated as per the QCB and Basel III requirements stood at 15.6 percent as at June 30, 2017, higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.
QNB Group benefits from a highly diversified international and local funding base spread across MEA, Europe and Asia. QNB has successfully diversified its wholesale funding pools in terms of currencies, tenors and product mix and follows a very conservative approach to manage its liquidity needs.
The group's loan to deposit ratio reached 98.3 percent, compared with 101.7 percent in June 2016.
Based on the groups continuous strong performance and its diversified international presence, QNB is now the most valuable banking brand in the MEA region, with the value of its brand increased to $3.8bn to rise to the 60th place globally, in addition to attaining the highest rating of AA+ in brand strength.
