Abu Dhabi  – Mubasher: The net profits attributable to the equity holders of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) slid by 82% to AED 207.370 million during the first quarter of 2020, compared to AED 1.152 billion during the same period of 2019.

The drop in net profits was driven by an increase in impairment charges, especially AED 1.072 billion on NMC Health Group, Finablr and associated companies, according to the company's financial statements for the period ended on 31 March 2020.

The lender's net interest and income from Islamic financing rose by 6% year-on-year (YoY) to AED 2.789 billion in the first three months of 2020, versus AED 1.706 billion in the year-ago period.

ADCB's total assets reached AED 412.191 billion in the January-March period of 2020, up from AED 405.094 billion in the same period of 2019.

Meanwhile, AED 2.644 billion was distributed as cash dividends for the first quarter of 2020.

The group CEO and board member,  Ala’a Eraiqat, said: "ADCB was the first bank in the UAE to roll out a comprehensive programme of relief measures for customers [amid the coronavirus pandemic], which include deferment of loan instalments, fee reductions and waivers, rescheduling of working capital facilities and temporary interest rate reductions for businesses."

Eraiqat added: "Through the merger with UNB and Al Hilal Bank and the successful integration completed on 2 April, ADCB proved it is capable of managing risk, systems and people through complexity to build a more powerful banking group."

It is noteworthy to mention that during the fourth quarter of 2019, the bank reported a 16% decrease in net profits to AED 1.05 billion from AED 1.24 billion in the same period of 2018.