Doha, 11 January 2022 - QNB, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, announced that the Board of Directors, during its meeting held today has approved its results for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Net Profit for the 2021 financial year reached QAR13.2 billion (USD3.6 billion), an increase of 10% compared to last year. Operating Income increased by 11% to QAR28.3 billion (USD7.8 billion) driven by strong growth in top line performance. This reflects QNB Group’s success in maintaining sustainable and strong growth across a number of revenue segments.
The Board of Directors have recommended to the General Assembly the distribution of a cash dividend of 55% of the nominal share value (QAR0.55 per share). The financial results for 2021 along with the proposed profit distribution are subject to Qatar Central Bank (QCB) approval.
Total Assets reached QAR1,093 billion (USD300 billion), an increase of 7% from 31 December 2020, mainly driven by strong growth in Loans and advances by 6% to reach QAR764 billion (USD210 billion). Robust customer deposits generation helped to increase customer deposits by 6% to reach QAR786 billion (USD216 billion) as at 31 December 2021.
QNB Group’s strong asset liability management capabilities enabled QNB Group to improve its loans to deposits ratio from 98.0% to 97.2% as at 31 December 2021 reflecting the improvement in the Group’s overall liquidity.
The Group’s drive for operational efficiency continues to result in cost-savings and strong revenue sources that has helped QNB Group to improve efficiency (cost to income) ratio from 24.3%to 22.2%, which is considered as one of the best ratios among large financial institutions in the MEA region.
The ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans remained stable at 2.3% as at 31 December 2021, one of the lowest amongst financial institutions in the MEA region, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk. Also during the year, QNB Group increased its loan loss provision charge by QAR7.1 billion (USD1.9 billion), as QNB Group remains cautious on the external environment with respect to potential risks that may arise from key markets where QNB Group operates. This helped the Group to increase its coverage ratio to 117%, which reflects the prudent approach adopted by the Group towards non-performing loans.
Group Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2021 amounted to 19.3% higher than the regulatory minimum requirements of the Qatar Central Bank and Basel Committee.
Group statistics
QNB Group supported by 27,000 staff resources operating from approximately 1,000 locations and 4,500 ATMs.