Dubai – Mubasher: The net profits attributable to the equity holders of Emirates NBD declined by 55% to AED 5.64 billion in the first nine months of 2020, compared to AED 12.48 billion in the same period of 2019.

Lower net profits are attributed to higher provisions and gain from the sale of Network International shares not repeated in 2020 and higher impairment charges, according to the bank's consolidated financial results for the nine-month period ended on 30 September 2020.

The bank's net interest income rose by 21% to AED 12.36 billion in the January-September period of 2020 from AED 9.99 billion during the year-ago period.

The lender's total assets reached AED 692.14 billion by the end of September 2020, up 1% from AED 683.32 billion from the end of 2019.

The adjusted earnings per share (EPS) stood at AED 0.82 in the January-September period of the current year, versus AED 1.37 in the year-ago period.

During the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, the bank's net profits recorded AED 1.56 billion, down 69% from AED 5 billion in the same quarter of 2019.

The Group CEO of Emirates NBD, Shayne Nelson, commented: "We have used that strength to support our customers affected by the disruption caused by Covid-19 to help avoid credit issues developing in future."

Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, said: "The bank’s results reflect a pick-up in economic activity during the third quarter and Emirates NBD has a strong balance sheet which we will continue to use to help drive economic growth."

It is noteworthy to mention that in the first half (H1) of 2020, the bank saw AED 4.09 billion net profits, down 45% from AED 7.48 billion during the same half of 2019.