ROAE rose to 18.4%* Total assets at 30 Sept 2018 increased to $35.5bn

AUB Chairman Hamad Al-Humaidhi

KUWAIT: Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (AUB) reported a 12.7 percent increase in net profit attributable to its equity shareholders of $528.3 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2018 compared to the net profit of $468.7 million achieved in YTD Q3/2017.

The Q3/2018 net profit of $170.8 million represents an 8.5 percent improvement over the Q3/2017 quarter reported profit of $157.4 million. The Earnings per Share (EPS) in YTD Q3/2018 were at US 6.4 cents, as compared to US 5.7 cents in YTD Q3/2017 (EPS: US 2.1 cents in Q3/2018 versus US 2.0 cents in Q3/2017).

Net interest income improved by 11.5 percent to $708.4 million during the nine months of 2018 compared to $635.1 million in YTD Q3/2017(Q3/2018: $241.2 million, +10.1 percent versus Q3/2017 of $219.1 million) driven by improved margins and prudent growth in loan and investments across the AUB Group funded through an increase in customer deposits. Increases in net interest income, trading and investment income resulted in a rise in operating income by 9.9 percent to $907.0 million compared to $825.1 million in YTD Q3/2017 (Q3/2018: $294.6 million, +6.2 percent versus Q3/2017: $277.4 million). Net operating income for YTD Q3/2018 increased by 9.9 percent to $845.2 million compared to $768.8 million in YTD Q3/2017 (Q3/2018: $275.1 million, +6.2 percent versus Q3/2017: $259.0 million). Operating results continued to be supported by the Bank's improved cost efficiencies as reflected in a cost to income ratio of 26.2 percent (YTD Q3/2017: 27.5 percent).

Solid asset quality levels were sustained with a gross non-performing loans ratio of 2.0 percent (31 December 2017: 1.9 percent) while specific provision coverage ratio increased to 86.3 percent (31 December 2017: 85.1 percent). The total provision coverage ratio, inclusive of expected credit loss provisioning under IFRS 9 but excluding very significant non-cash collaterals available, improved to 222.3 percent as at 30 September 2018 (31 December 2017: 154.3 percent).

The Group's total assets at 30 September 2018 increased by 6.7 percent to $35.5 billion (31 December 2017: $33.2 billion). The Return on Average Assets improved to 2.2 percent for YTD Q3/2018 (YTD Q3/2017: 2.1 percent). The Group's equity attributable to owners at 30 September 2018 maintained at $3.8 billion (31 December 2017: $3.8 billion). The Return on Average Equity (ROAE) for YTD Q3/2018, increased to 18.4 percent, compared to 16.7 percent achieved in YTD Q3/2017.

Hamad Al-Humaidhi, AUB Chairman, commented: "AUB's continued positive core performance is a testament to its well-managed business model based on diversification and cross border flows, supported by a continuous, dynamic and focused approach to ensure the effective deployment of capital resources across the AUB Group's current and targeted markets."

The press release and full set of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2018 are available on the Bahrain Bourse , Boursa Kuwait and AUB websites.