DUBAI, April 27 (Reuters) - First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC
(FAB) , the UAE's biggest lender by assets, on Thursday
reported a 23% fall in first-quarter net profit, but said its
loans and deposits grew, supported by strong momentum in the
business and commercial environment.
The bank posted a profit of 3.93 billion dirhams ($1.06
billion), compared to 5.12 billion dirhams a year ago, according
to a bourse filing.
The lender said that Q1 profit was up 70% year-on-year when
excluding gains from the sale of a stake in its payments
business Magnati, which were booked in the first quarter of
2022.
Total income stood at 6.7 billion dirhams in Q1, down 7%
YoY, although operating income jumped 51%.
The bank took out impairment charges of 798 million dirhams
in the first quarter, up 74% from 457.4 million last year.
FAB's loans and advances grew 9%, and it attracted deposits
of 80 billion dirhams, with total deposits up 30%.
The bank - majority owned by the Abu Dhabi government - said
total assets increased 21% to 1.2 trillion dirhams, "led by
sizeable deposit inflows deployed across loans and high-quality
liquid assets."
The bank has repeatedly quashed reports it was considering a
takeover offer for Britain's Standard Chartered Bank Plc .
On Wednesday, StanChart's chief financial officer said there
had been "no contact at all" from FAB since the takeover
speculation earlier this year.
($1 = 3.6718 UAE dirhams)
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Varun H K)
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