Masraf Al Rayan nets QR1bn profit

Masraf Al Rayan, whose rating has recently been upgraded by global credit rating agency Moody’s, has shown a 7% rise in its net profit to QR1.08bn in the first nine months of this year. Total assets grew 26% to QR61.44bn with the financing portfolio registering a 32% jump to QR37.86bn, the bank said in a statement. “We are pleased with the bank’s performance which coincides with the recent credit rating upgrade by Moody’s Investors Services,” Masraf Al Rayan chairman Hussein Ali al-Abdulla said. The customers’ deposits have also shown a remarkable growth of 29% to QR51.72bn. Total shareholders’ equity reached QR9.21bn and the book value per share increased to QR12.29 as of September 30, 2012. “The results achieved are an indication of a strong and continued performance by Rayan amidst an excellent business climate and a flourishing economy of Qatar,” its CEO Adel Mustafawi said. Moody’s has recently upgraded the bank’s credit rating to ‘A2/Prime-1’ from ‘A3/Prime-2’ with a stable outlook. The upgrade of Rayan reflected the low risk profile sustained by excellent quality of assets, robust capital and liquidity buffers as well as a strong partnership with the public sector. According to Moody’s, one of the main drivers of the upgrade is the bank’s consistent record of maintaining excellent asset quality with non-performing loan ratio remaining stable at 0.29% of the portfolio. Moody’s expects that Rayan will be able to maintain strong financial fundamentals over the next 12-18 months, and noted that its key ratios compare favourably with those of other Gulf banks, and with the global medians for similarly-rated peers. The bank’s Tier 1 ratio increased to 21% from 19%, whilst its liquid assets to total assets ratio increased to 32% from 19% a year earlier as of December 2011.