MANAMA, 23 May 2007 — Albaraka Banking Group (ABG), a Bahrain-based Islamic bank, has achieved noticeable growth in its financing and investment assets and in shareholders’ equity during the first quarter of 2007, which reflected positively on all income items. The gross operating income increased by 25 percent to reach $93.02 million and net income by 21 percent to $31.01 million.
ABG Chairman Saleh Kamel said: “We are very pleased to see Albaraka Banking Group advance steadily in achieving its development objectives which serve the communities in which it operates. We, with the grace of God, were successful in reinvesting the proceeds of the initial public offering (IPO) which we launched last year in expanding the business of all of our subsidiaries, and we are starting to reap the benefits of these prudent policies. We are confident that the coming period will show more clearly the results of the huge investments we made in our different units and operations. We will also continue to coordinate the business strategies and increase cooperation and business between the units of the group and expand our operations into new geographical regions.”
The financial statement of ABG for first quarter 2007 shows an increase of 25 percent in gross operating income to reach $93.02 million, compared to $74.62 in first quarter 2006. All components of the income have recorded noticeable increases, especially the income from the ever growing Islamic financing and investment operations.
Its net income has increased by 21 percent to $31.01 million in first quarter 2007, compared to $25.62 million in first quarter 2006.
Similarly, all the items of the balance sheet, especially those related to financing and investment activities, recorded a remarkable growth during first quarter 2007, leading to an increase of 24 percent in total assets to reach $8.14 billion as at the end of March 2007, compared to $6.57 billion as at the end of March 2006. Financing and investment accounts increased by 22 percent to reach $5.58 billion as a result of an increase in the services and products provided to clients and increased volumes of business between the group’s units. Customer deposits also increased by 19 percent to reach $6.56 billion in line with the increase in assets. The total equity has increased by 59 percent to reach $1.2 billion during first quarter 2007, as a result of the successful conclusion of the IPO.
Adnan Ahmed Yousif, president and chief executive of ABG, said that the excellent results that the group achieved during the first three months of 2007 confirm the correctness of the approach we adopt in developing solid business strategies which are based on careful selection of and seeking to obtain the best returns from the businesses and activities that we finance or invest in.