By: Amr Fouad

Mubasher: Al Baraka Banking Group is expected to see better results in 2018, as Arab currencies grow, while the group plans to open new branches in Egypt, Morocco, and Iraq in the coming months, CEO Adnan Ahmed Yousif told Mubasher on Wednesday.

Financial results of the sharia-compliant lender were affected by the decline in the currencies of Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey, and Egypt against the US dollar, Yousif added.

Over the last years, the Bahrain-based group increased its investments in Egypt, which bought up its branches in the Arab world's most populous country to 32, while another three branches are scheduled for inauguration in 2018, Yousif revealed.

The leading Islamic banking multinational group will add a new branch to its four branches across Morocco, planning to increase them to 37 located all over the North African nation by 2022, the CEO concluded.

Al Baraka Banking Group reported $207 million in net profits in the last four quarters, while its board recommended the distribution of 2% of its capital in cash dividends, with a per-share dividend of $0.02.

Translated by: Muhammad Khalid