Investors in Qatar Islamic Bank were left wanting this week after disappointing earnings from the Sharia-compliant lender.
The bank, based in Doha, had been expected to take large chunks of market share from conventional banks forced to shed their Islamic units last year .
Qatar Islamic Bank's stocks fell 3.1 per cent to 80.3 Qatari rials each after reporting profits of 1.3 billion rials last year, an increase of 2.2 per cent compared with the year earlier.
However, the earnings disappointed analysts who had been hoping for profits of 1.6bn rials. The decline pushed the Qatar Index down 1 per cent to 8,461.77. Qatar Islamic Bank had been expected to benefit from a central bank regulation splitting conventional and Sharia-compliant lenders, reducing the level of competition in the market for Islamic finance.
But a period of slack lending during the first three months of last year resulted in weak levels of credit growth for the full year, said Elena Sanchez-Cabezudo, the director of equity research at EFG-Hermes.
"Loan growth was weak, if you look at a year-on-year basis," she said. "But the outlook for the Qatari banking sector is quite positive for loan growth due to government investment, and they should benefit from this."
Lending increased 1 per cent compared with a year earlier to 29.6bn rials, although financing income rose by 22 per cent during the same period.
Investment income almost tripled during the year to 631 million rials, as the bank's investments in Qatari government sukuk swelled its investment portfolio.
The Qatari government sold sukuk to the banking sector in an effort to bolster balance sheets and prepare lenders to make investment needed for the hosting of the Fifa 2022 World Cup.
The bank also announced a 45 per cent cash dividend.
Meanwhile, Doha Bank also fell in trading, with the bank's stocks sliding 2.9 per cent to 63 rials.
The bank reported net profits for last year of 1.24bn rials, increasing 17.7 per cent from the same time a year earlier.
ghunter@thenational.ae
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok
UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final
(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Match info
Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')
West Ham United 0
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Crime%20Wave
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