Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) reported a 16% rise in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday, aided by higher revenue and lower impairments. 
The earnings continued a mixed fourth-quarter results season for UAE banks, with Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank reporting bumper profit growth but National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Mashreq and Union National Bank recording profit slumps. 
ADCB, the emirate’s third-largest bank by assets, made a net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.19bn dirhams ($324mn) in the three months to December 31, compared with 1.02bn dirhams in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said in a bourse statement. 
Two analysts polled by Reuters had forecast net profit for the quarter of 986mn dirhams and 1.12bn dirhams respectively. 
The earnings were boosted by a 7% year-on-year increase in quarterly operating income to 2.01bn dirhams, while the amount the bank set aside to cover bad loans was 28% lower than the fourth quarter of 2014 at 110mn dirhams. 
Naveed Ahmed, senior manager at Global Investment House, said he was positive on the results, noting the “massive drop in its provisions due to improvement in asset quality”. 
ADCB made a 2015 net profit of 4.92bn dirhams, up 22% on 2014, it said in the statement. 
Total loans at the bank stood at 153.68bn dirhams on December 31, up 9% on the end of the previous year. Customer deposits reached 143.53bn dirhams, up 14%.  
The bank also proposed a cash dividend of 0.45 dirhams per share for 2015, against the 0.40 dirhams it paid for 2014.