Mubasher: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) on Monday posted a 12.6% year-on-year rise in its profits for the first three months of 2018.

Profits amounted to QAR 625.2 million in Q1-18, up from QAR 555.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier, according to the lender’s filing to the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE).

Earnings per shares (EPS) reached QAR 2.65 in Q1-18 versus QAR 2.35 in the same period of the previous year.

Assets levelled up 6% to QAR 2.65 billion, Qatar's largest Islamic bank by assets noted.

Moreover, income from financing and investing activities grew 8.6% to QAR 1.44 billion by the end of the three-month period ended 31 March 2018, which reflects the healthy growth in the bank’s core operating activities.

“QIB was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing financing assets to total financing assets at 1.2% reflecting the quality of the Bank’s financing assets portfolio and its effective risk management framework,” according to the statement.

For the full-year 2017, QIB’s profits grew 11.6% to QAR 2.405 billion, compared to QAR 2.155 billion over 2016.

In February, the bank’s board approved distributing a cash dividend of QAR 5 per share, representing 50% of the share’s nominal value.

By 10:35 am Qatar time, QIB’s stock rose 0.96% at QRA 104.7.