Ahlibank has earned a net profit of QR164.9mn in the first quarter of this year, the bank said yesterday. 
The bank’s total operating income, excluding investment income, was steady at QR236.6mn “despite continued pressure on lending margins”, the bank said.  
Cost-to-income ratio remained at 28.8% for the quarter that ended in March 2016, which is lower than the sector’s average cost to income ratio of 31.1% calculated based on 2015 reported figures.
Ahlibank said its total assets grew by 13.5% to QR32.4bn in March compared with QR28.5bn in the same period last year. 
The growth in total assets was driven by bank’s total loans and advances, which grew by 17.3% to QR25.14bn.
Non-performing loans ratio (NPL) stood at a healthy 1.2% as of March 2016, reflecting the bank’s “emphasis on quality over growth in business volumes”. 
Customer deposits increased by 14.3% to QR19.7bn in March compared with QR17.2bn in the same period last year. 
Stable funding, which includes medium-term liquidity, improved to 7.9% in March 2016, as a percentage to total liabilities vis-à-vis 6.6% in March 2015 as the bank continues to improve its liquidity structure. 
Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as return on average assets (ROAA) and return on average equity (ROAE), remained healthy at 2.02% and 14.7% respectively for the quarter that ended in March, Ahlibank said. 
On the results, Ahlibank chairman and managing director Sheikh Faisal bin AbdulAziz bin Jassem al-Thani said, “Despite world economic challenges and ongoing pressure on energy prices, we continue to deliver stable quarterly profits. In recognition of our strong asset quality metrics, sound capital and improved funding mix, Moody’s has assigned a debut credit rating of A2/Prime-1 deposit ratings with a stable outlook”.
Sheikh Faisal said, “I am proud to announce that this month, we have successfully completed our $500mn debut fund raising in the international capital markets via EMTN programme. This is in line with our liquidity strategy to diversify our funding sources with increased stability. In addition, we have positioned ourselves to meet Basel III requirements and to begin the next phase of our growth story. We are grateful to the Government for its visionary leadership and to the Qatar Central Bank for its continued support and guidance.”