QNB Announces Financial Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2017

Doha, January 16 (QNA) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) Group announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2017. For the year ended 2017, Net Profit reached QAR13.1 billion (USD3.6 billion), up by 6 percent compared to last year, QNB said in a press statement today. According to the Statement, the QNB's total assets increased by 13 percent from December 2016 to reach QAR811 billion (USD223 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. The Board of Directors have recommended to the General Assembly for the distribution of a cash dividend of 60 percent of the nominal share value (QAR 6.0 per share). The financial results for 2017 along with the profit distribution are subject to Qatar Central Bank (QCB) approval. Key driver of total assets growth was from loans and advances which grew by 12 percent to reach QAR584 billion (USD161 billion). Also QNB Group increased customer deposits by 16 percent to reach QAR586 billion (USD161 billion) from December 2016. This led to QNB Group's loans to deposits ratio to decrease from 102.7 percent in December 2016, to reach 99.8 percent as at 31 December 2017. The Group's conservative loan loss provisioning policy and strong recovery efforts helped reduce net impairment charge on QNB's loan book during the year demonstrating strong credit quality of the bank's core asset base. Also the stock of non-performing loans ratio of 1.8 percent as at 31 December 2017 has been witnessed on a consistent basis, year on year, reflecting the high quality of the Group's loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group's conservative policy in regard to provisioning improved the coverage ratio to reach 112 percent as at 31 December 2017. Total Equity increased by 11 percent from December 2016 to reach QAR79 billion (USD22 billion) as at 31 December 2017. Earnings per Share reached QAR13.7 (USD3.8), compared to QAR13.1 (USD3.6) in December 2016. (QNA)