Commercial Bank Increases Profit for Nine Months by 19% to QAR 1,553 million

Doha, October 29 (QNA) - The Commercial Bank of Qatar Q.S.C. ("Commercial Bank" or "the Bank") and its subsidiaries and associates announced today its financial results for the nine months to 30 September 2014. The Bank delivered a net profit of QAR 1,553 million for the nine months of 2014, a 19% increase in profitability compared to the equivalent nine months of 2013. On a quarterly basis, Commercial Bank generated net profit of QAR 503 million in the third quarter 2014, an increase of 79% compared to the third quarter 2013. HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Commercial Bank said, "Qatars economy continues to grow robustly despite a slowing global economy. The most recent GDP growth figures of 5.7% for the country demonstrate Qatars resilience as the country diversifies its economy, generating an increasing share of revenue from non-hydrocarbon sectors. Commercial Bank has benefited during the period from the successful execution of its strategy across its operations in Qatar, Turkey, the UAE and Oman and we remain confident in our full year performance." Commercial Banks Chief Executive Officer, Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi, commented, "Commercial Bank has delivered a robust performance. The Qatari market remains highly competitive and we have maintained our selective approach to lending opportunities. We continue to defend and drive our profitability in Wholesale and grow our market share in Retail by offering a convenient and multi-channelled banking experience to our customers. We have seen good progress from our Turkish business, ABank. The investment we have made in its leadership, operations and marketing over the past year since our acquisition are now being realised with a significant improvement in ABanks year on year quarterly performance." Commercial Banks Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Hussain Al Fardan, added, "The third quarter has seen a solid performance from Commercial Bank, a strong year-on-year performance from ABank and continued consistent profit generation from our Associates in the UAE and Oman. These performances have enabled Commercial Bank to deliver a 79% year-on-year increase in quarterly profit from QAR 281 million to QAR 503 million." For his side, Group Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Stevens, commented, "The strategies we have put in place across our regional assets are demonstrating good progress. We have focused on improving our returns and we have done this by only pursuing lending opportunities that match our return expectations, continuing to attract lower cost deposits, diversifying our funding base and effectively managing our costs." (QNA)