Dubai - Mubasher: Mashreq Bank, listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), posted a 5.2% year-on-year increase in its net profit for the first half of 2019.

Net profit reached AED 1.2 billion in the six-month period ended 30 June 2019, versus AED 1.16 billion in H1-18, the bank said in a statement.

Earnings per share amounted to AED 6.88 in H1-19, compared to AED 6.54 in the prior-year period.

The lender’s total operating income fell slightly by 1% in H1-19 to AED 3.07 billion from AED 3.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Total assets grew by 7.4% to AED 136.4 billion at the end of June 2019, versus AED 126.9 billion as at the end of 30 June 2018.

Loans and advances stood at AED 70.7 billion in the first six months of 2019, up 4.5% from 67.68 billion in the year-ago period.

In the second quarter of 2019, Mashreq Bank achieved a net profit of AED 593 million, up 5.4% year-on-year from AED 563 million.

The bank’s operating profit declined 3.4% to AED 840 million in Q2-19, against AED 869 million in the same quarter of 2018.

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq, said: “I am delighted to announce that Mashreq Bank has yet again posted a healthy net profit at the close of 1H of 2019, and we have registered a year on year increase of 5.2% in net profits.”

“Our impairment allowance is down and we continue to command the best-in-class non-interest income ratio. This is testament to our teams’ constant drive towards innovation alongside developing new strategies and products that steadily place us at the forefront of the banking industry in the region,” Al Ghurair added.

In April, Mashreq Bank announced it had logged a net profit of AED 628 million in Q1-19, up 5% from AED 598.16 million in Q1-18.