Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the United Arab Emirates' largest sharia-compliant lender, posted a 43.6 percent increase in third-quarter net profit on October 28, as income rose from Islamic lending, investing and fees, while impairment charges dropped.
Beating analysts' forecasts, the bank made 972.1 million dirhams ($265 million) in the three months to September 30, it said in a statement, up from 676.8 million a year before.
EFG Hermes had forecast a net profit of 949.0 million dirhams, while HSBC expected 900 million.
Income from Islamic financing and investing deals rose to 1.43 billion dirhams from 1.15 billion. Fee income has been one of the ways banks in the region have been able to build their revenues at a time when record low interest rates have kept net interest margins under pressure.
DIB's income from commissions, fees and foreign exchange rose to 346.1 million dirhams from 249.5 million.
Impairment charges have fallen in recent quarters and that trend continued in the third quarter, as impairment losses fell 64.4 percent to 64.92 million dirhams. DIB has also been focusing on growing its international presence.