Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the United Arab Emirates' largest sharia-compliant lender, posted a 58.4 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, beating analysts' forecasts by a considerable margin. The bank made 1.37 billion dirhams ($373 million) in the three months to December 31, according to Reuters calculations. This compares with a profit of 864.7 million dirhams in the corresponding period of 2015.
The average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters was for DIB to make a quarterly profit of 850.4 million dirhams. The bank did not provide a quarterly breakdown. Net profit for the year stood at 4.05 billion dirhams, the bank said, against 3.56 billion dirhams a year earlier.
DIB also said its board proposed a 45 per cent cash dividend to shareholders for the year. Its board adopted resolutions to increase the bank's Tier 1 issued capital by $1 billion, and to issue senior or subordinated sukuk for an amount not exceeding $5 billion.