Doha: QIIB recorded a net profit of QR927m for the fully-year 2019, reflecting a solid growth of 5.1 percent, compared to 2018. The bank’s earnings per share stood at QR0.58.
QIIB Chairman and Managing Director, Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, commented: “The 2019 results underscore QIIB’s ability to move forward, benefiting from the strength of the Qatari economy, which is performing exceptionally well across various sectors.”
The results were announced after a meeting of the QIIB Board of Directors, chaired by Sheikh Dr. Khalid. The Board of Directors recommended the Annual General Assembly of shareholders to distribute cash dividends equivalent to 42.5 percent of the capital (QR0.425 per share) subject to Qatar Central Bank’s approval.
Sheikh Dr. Khalid said: “The results of QIIB for 2019 indicate that we were able to keep pace with the momentum and growth of the Qatari economy and its ability to overcome various challenges and accomplish greater achievements in all sectors, thanks to the support and patronage of the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.”
“In 2019, the Qatari economy continued its positive performance and all indications are that it is at the forefront of the region’s economies, which drew the attention of investors in various countries who sought to take advantage of the opportunities it provides. Qatari economy’s dynamics positively reflects on the local economic sectors, namely banking, which is reckoned as a key driver of growth and one of the most important factors for economic stability”, QIIB Chairman said.
“During 2019, QIIB continued to focus on the local market as part of its strategy, especially with the availability of great opportunities that contribute to the development of the country and the achievement of Qatar National Vision 2030, some of whose goals have already been achieved while others are being realised. We are honoured to take part and actively contribute to achieving some of the goals of QNV 2030,” Sheikh Dr. Khalid added.
In 2019 and in the previous years, the Qatari banking sector was full of vitality, activity and competitiveness. The bank participated in the financing of numerous large projects, such as the ones related to infrastructure and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani noted: “Our focus on large projects did not diminish our interest in small and medium-sized enterprises, which we continued to support during the past year, not to mention our distinguished partnership with Qatar Development Bank to support and finance SMEs. This partnership is in fact a bright spot that we seek to continuously focus on so as to contribute to comprehensive development that will potentially impact the widest segment of society.”
In parallel with QIIB’s focus on the local market, the bank did not fail to strengthen its partnerships globally, building on the strength and solid reputation of the Qatari economy and the bank’s long history of growth and stability, which made it one of the most important institutions for Islamic banking in Qatar and the region as whole. There is no doubt that 2019 was a good year for our foreign partnerships that we seek to develop in order to enhance returns to shareholders and strengthen the bank’s financial position, Sheikh Dr. Khalid added.
QIIB Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Abdulbasit Ahmad Al Shaibei, highlighted the Bank’s financial indicators for the year 2019 and said, “the bank’s total assets at the end of 2019 amounted to QR56.8bn compared to QR50.3bn from a year ago, with a growth rate of 13.1 percent. The financing activities portfolio increased to QR37.0bn from QR28.0bn, representing a growth rate of 32.2 percent. QIIB’s operating revenues reached QR2.4bn in 2019, compared to QR2.1bn at the end of the previous year, with a growth rate of 14.6 percent.”
The bank’s total equity stood at QR8.2bn at the end of 2019 while its Capital Adequacy under Basel III registered 18.5 percent reflecting the strength of QIIB’s financial position amid various risks.
“QIIB results for 2019 are encouraging, even as we aspire to achieve better results. But in general, they reflect the positive atmosphere that the Qatari economy is witnessing in various sectors, in terms of favourable opportunities, stimulating and encouraging competition for work, innovation and multilateral partnerships that contribute to achieving good growth figures,” Dr. Al Shaibei said.
“Through these results, we are happy to note that QIIB contributed to the growth of the Qatari economy, as we strived during the past year to implement the interim and strategic plans laid down by the Board of Directors. The results were satisfactory for us, as most of the bank’s financial indicators improved and most of of the bank’s financial indicators improved,” Dr. Al Shaibei added.
Credit rating agencies affirmed QIIB’s high ratings with a stable outlook based on a number of factors, namely the strength of the bank’s position among other Islamic banks, quality of its assets, strong profitability, and quality of financing portfolio, growth in operational income and overall improvement in operational efficiency.
Dr. Al Shaibei noted great efforts were made during 2019 to improve the bank’s response to customers’ requirements and upgrade its services and products in line with the best global standards. The bank has already witnessed an improvement in customers’ satisfaction and an expansion in our customers’ base, which we are responding to with more innovation and dealing appropriately with market competition.”
QIIB continues to pay special attention to the modern customer service trends, providing alternative channels such as online banking services, mobile banking, phone banking and the call centre. The bank made great strides in this field as it facilitates communication with its customers and saving them time and efforts and reduce the bank’s operating expenses.
“Our efforts to improve the quality of services received great attention and much appreciation, as QIIB won the ‘Best Islamic Bank in the State of Qatar award for year 2019’ in the field of banking products and financing solutions during the awards ceremony of Excellence and Achievement Banking organised by the International Union of Arab Bankers,” Dr. Al Shaibei added.
QIIB also won the ‘Strongest Islamic Retail Bank Award’ and the ‘Most Innovative Islamic Retail Bank Award’ in Qatar Awards 2019 granted annually by the Islamic Retail Banking Awards Committee in cooperation with the University of Cambridge, which are two of the most prestigious awards granted annually to leading banks in the Islamic finance sectors.
The bank also won the ‘Best Islamic Bank Qatar Award’ during the annual IFN Awards ceremony organised by Red Money and held last year in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur”.
In parallel with its interest in developing services and products, the CEO explained that “The bank remained interested in enhancing its technological infrastructure in line with the latest trends in global banking development and so as to increase the bank’s immunity in the field of cybersecurity. QIIB received ISO 27001, one of the world’s most prestigious accreditations in Information Security, which reflects its high standing in the protection of the bank’s and customers’ data. The bank also obtained, for the fourth time in a row, the highest certification in the protection of payment card data (PCI-DSS).
In terms of foreign investment, Dr. Al-Shaibei noted, “QIIB kept interacting with global markets and strengthening its various partnerships. 2019 was a special year for the bank as it successfully issued sukuks twice during the same year with a very competitive pricing and very strong international allocation. Both Sukuks were listed on the London Stock Exchange.
