Dubai Islamic Bank AGM elects new board and approves 20 per cent dividend for shareholders

The meeting approved a 20 per cent dividend for shareholders. A new board of directors was also elected at the AGM to supervise and run the operations of the bank during the next three years.

The general assembly reviewed a report forwarded by the Fatwa and Sharia Department regarding the bank's operations during the previous financial year. The assembly also approved the financial statement following a review of the reports submitted by the bank's auditors.

H.E. Dr. Mohamed Khalfan bin Khirbash, UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry and Chairman of DIB said: "Dubai Islamic Bank achieved record financial results in 2004, marking the year as a significant milestone in its journey. The bank's significant accomplishments in the various financial sectors are a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the employees."

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced a 43 per cent rise in total revenue for the year ending 31st December 2004 at AED 1.47 billion compared to AED 1.02 billion for the previous year. Its net profit attributable to shareholders reported a record growth of 97 per cent to reach AED 461 million compared to AED 234 million in 2003.

The bank's assets rose by 34 per cent from AED 22.8 billion in 2003 to AED 30.6 billion in 2004 as a result of the significant growth in the bank's financing and investment portfolio, which reported a 48 per cent rise to AED 19 billion compared to AED 12.8 billion in 2003.

Meanwhile, customer deposits recorded a high growth of 26 per cent to reach AED 25 billion compared to AED 19.9 billion in 2003.

The net profit for the bank, including depositors' profits, reported a 36 per cent increase for the year ending December 2004, at AED 1.02 billion compared to AED 751 million for 2003. As a result, the total shareholder's equity, including the proposed dividend to shareholders, increased by 76 per cent to reach AED 3 billion at the end of December 2004 compared to AED 1.7 billion at the end of 2003.

In 2004, a number of major operations were conducted by the bank, including lead managing the largest ever US$1billion Sukuk Al Ijara for Dubai Civil Aviation and arranging the record US$350 million Ijara syndication for Nakheel. While these were the crown jewels of DIB's achievements in 2004, the bank also received international recognition as it was ranked the world's top Islamic deals lead manager by the prestigious Euromoney magazine.

DIB seeks to extend its operations during 2005 and focus on entering new regional markets through opening branches or representative offices. It also plans to enter in to strategic alliances and partnership with leading local and international institutions in 2005 in order to capitalise on the remarkable success achieved last year. The bank would also launch several specialised investment and financing portfolios to increase the revenues of shareholders.