ABU DHABI: First Gulf Bank increased its 2013 dividend payout by 20 percent after posting record quarterly earnings, as the United Arab Emirates’ second largest lender by value profits from an economic recovery in the region.
The Abu Dhabi lender proposed a total dividend payout of Dh3bn for 2013, up from Dh2.5bn in 2012, it said in a statement yesterday.
Cash dividends for the year has been raised to one dirham per share from Dh0.83 per share, FGB said. It also plans a 30 percent bonus share payout for 2013.
Banks in the United Arab Emirates are reaping the benefits of a recovering economy, helped mainly by an upturn in the real estate sector together with reduced debt worries at some state-linked entities.
FGB, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, made a net profit of Dh1.37bn ($373.2m) for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with Dh1.15bn a year earlier.
Six analysts polled by Reuters had estimated an average profit of Dh1.17bn. The quarterly net profit was its highest ever, FGB said, driven by gains on its property portfolio and increased returns on its investments.
Fourth-quarter provisions were higher at Dh545.7m compared with Dh428m a year ago, taking full year provisions to Dh1.82bn, up from Dh1.65bn in 2012.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank posted a 40 percent jump in its quarterly net profit earlier in the week, beating analysts’ forecasts.
Reuters
