Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) on Monday announced a year-on-year decline in its profits for the 12 months ended December 2017 on the back of merger-related costs.

The UAE’s largest bank recorded AED 10.92 ($2.97 billion) in net profit in 2017, down from AED 11.32 billion ($3.08 billion) in 2016.

Earnings per share (EPS) amounted to AED 0.96 in 2017 compared to AED 1.0 the year before, FAB said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the bank’s adjusted group net profit for the full year 2017 amounted to AED 11.52 billion but excluded integration costs and merger-related amortisation of intangibles of AED 601 million in 2017. The figure was “broadly in line with 2016,” the bank said.

FAB Group’s revenue fell 4% year-on-year to AED 19.53 billion in 2017 on the back of “softer market conditions and portfolio optimization.”

As for the fourth quarter of 2017, FAB posted AED 2.83 billion ($770 million) in net profit, down 1% from AED 2.86 billion ($778 million) in the year-ago period.

The bank’s revenues, however, increased by 10% in Q4-17, backed by stronger business momentum. Its adjusted group net profit for the final quarter of last year, excluding integration costs and merger-related amortisation of intangibles, totalling AED 336 million, rose 18% sequentially and 6% year-on-year.

FAB’s board recommended a cash dividend of AED 0.70 per share, totalling AED 7.6 billion for 2017.

The proposed distribution marks “the highest combined dividend amount distributed by [First Gulf Bank (FGB) and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD)] – up 11% compared to 2016,” the statement showed.

“FAB’s 2017 financial results are a clear testament to the sound rationale behind the merger and clearly demonstrate that it was a well-planned and strategic decision, based on solid forward-looking, market perspective and insights,” commented FAB chairman Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The merger between FGB and NBAD has “created the UAE’s largest bank, with the aim of actively supporting the UAE’s economy, through combining the solid expertise and strengths of both legacy banks,” the top official highlighted.

Meanwhile, FAB CEO Abdulhamid Saeed stated that the bank “achieved a resilient set of results in its first year, as the largest bank in the UAE…and delivered against many of the milestones that were set, ahead of schedule and realised around AED 500 Million in cost synergies in our first year alone.”