Chairman and Managing Director of Dukhan Bank, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani
Doha: Dukhan Bank announced yesterday that its total revenues grew by 15.7 percent to reach QR3.8bn for the year ended December 31, 2020, while profit before loss of impairment of intangible assets and taxes exceeded QR1bn, with a growth of 33 percent, compared to QR766m for the previous year.
The Group’s assets grew significantly by 12% exceeding QR86bn, underscored by a growth in its financing activities which exceeded 12.7% recording over QR58bn, as compared to 2019.
Total expenses declined by 15.6% to QR939m when compared to the previous year stemming from the Group’s efforts to control operating and financing expenses.
Board of Directors have recommended 10 percent cash dividend distribution.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on financial markets, as well as accounting for the performance of select economic sectors, including some of the bank’s subsidiaries, the management adopted a conservative approach to hedge for the uncertain circumstances. Thus, following a conservative assessment on the part of the management, the Group recorded a QR450m decline in its intangible assets from subsidiaries acquired between 2009 and 2010.
The charge was recorded in the income statement for this year, which accounted for a decrease in the net profit reaching QR566m, however, noting that the decline does not affect the level of liquidity or adequacy of the Group’s capital nor its operating results.
Commenting on these results, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Dukhan Bank, stated:
“At Dukhan Bank, we are proud of what we have achieved this year. Stemming from a strong resilience, we have not only managed to deal with the challenges imposed by the pandemic but has also achieved unprecedented growth at all levels. This is in part from the adoption of a conservative business model which allows hedging for any defaults that might arise in the financing and investment portfolio in line with the instructions of the Central Bank.”
He said, “Additionally, the Group has looked into provisioning models which would match the uncertainty imposed by crisis, like the pandemic, and implement the best international practices to enable the Group to cope with any negative conditions in the future. Moreover, the Group has been able to overcome the impact of the decline in intangible assets due its conservative approach in evaluating subsidiary companies and leveraging the QR600m contingency reserve, accumulated in previous years, to manage the circumstances.”
“Moving on, the Board recommends distributing cash dividends amounting to 10 percent of the nominal value of the shares to shareholders for the year 2020. We are fully confident that the Group will continue its impressive performance in the coming years,” he added.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said “Dukhan Bank aspires to provide innovative banking products and services that meet customers’ evolving needs using the latest technological innovations in this field. Therefore, Dukhan Bank takes confident steps towards achieving strategic objectives in a way which enhances its position in the banking sector, grows its market share, and contributes to achieving the goals of Qatar Vision 2030”.
Group CEO of Dukhan Bank, Khalid Yousef Al Subeai
Group CEO, Khalid Yousef Al Subeai, said, “Following the completion of the first merger in the Qatari banking sector in record time, we were able to realise benefits from the merger in terms of cost reduction, with the cost-to-income ratio dropping to 27.6% compared to 39.2% for 2019. The Group has succeeded in widening its customer base and market share, which reflects positively on its performance and financial results”.
Al Subeai also highlighted the bank’s flexibility in overcoming the impacts of (COVID-19). He stated that Dukhan Bank has fully coordinated with the concerned authorities in the country to respond to the aftermath of the crisis. The bank activated an extensive crisis management plan in addition to strengthening its portfolio of online banking services. These steps enabled business continuity, allowing customers to conduct all their banking transactions easily and conveniently from their homes without the need to visit any of the bank’s branches.
Dukhan Bank participated in the launch of the (COVID-19) National Guarantee Program under the directive of Qatar Central Bank to alleviate the financial pressures on private companies and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
