First Gulf Bank profits soar to AED 465 million in 6 months

The preliminary financial results indicate a remarkable growth in profits where it has increased by 357% compared to the same period of last year, and 90% compared to the full year 2004.

Abdulhamid Saeed, CEO First Gulf Bank has announced, "Our growth is in line with the strategies and plans we set in the last five year. This achievement is based on long-term planning, continuous commitment of our highly experienced professional team, and a strong foundation in our support functions in IT and operations. All have helped the bank lead the way and further grow into new ventures and areas."

He also added, "We have focused in the last six months on expanding and growing our main businesses in all sectors. Our Net Operating income in the first half of the year reached AED 608 million higher by 227% than the same period of last year."

The net interest income reached AED 349.4 million, higher by 213% than the same period of last year. The total Other Income reached AED 258.5 million, a 247% increase compared to the same period of last year. The bank has focused on expanding its operations and line of business across all divisions like treasury and investment , the retail and corporate banking sectors, and the real estate management . The bank succeeded in growing its customer base, as well as introducing new financial services and products over the last few months.

The loans and advances reached AED 9.5 billion indicating an increase of 46% compared to the year-end results of 2004 of AED 6.5 billion. The total Assets reached AED 21.2 billion higher than last year of AED 12.8 Billion by 66%. Total customer deposits increased by 76% reaching AED 17.5 Billion compared to AED 9.9 billion end of last year.

Abdulhamid Saeed has added, "The bank's tremendous growth is in line with the economic growth in the country that is forecasted to be around 7% this year. The economic growth has positively reflected on all sectors and one of them is the banking and finance sector. We have focused our efforts on delivering financial solutions that are in line with the economic growth and expansion requirements."

First Gulf Bank will continue to grow further by expanding its business and operations in the UAE, focusing on maximizing profit returns for shareholders. Saeed added," We have bigger growth plans for the bank in the future and we have started already with the increase in the bank's capital building a strong foundation for our expansion plans."

The bank has recently called to increase its capital to AED one billion by issuing a total of 498,131,944 shares for subscription each at a price of AED10. The closing date for subscription is scheduled on Saturday July 9, 2005.