Gulf bank QNB slightly beats estimates with 10% net profit rise in Q4 | Reuters #Qatar

Gulf bank QNB slightly beats estimates with 10% net profit rise in Q4 | Reuters

Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the biggest Gulf lender by assets, posted on Monday a 10% rise in fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier, slightly beating analyst estimates.

Net profit attributable to QNB's equity holders in the fourth quarter was 4 billion riyals ($1.1 billion), according to Reuters calculations based on previous financial statements, up from 3.6 billion riyals a year earlier.

Analysts had estimated net profit in the period at 3.95 billion riyals, according to LSEG data.

The Qatari lender said in a statement it made a net profit of 16.7 billion riyals in the 12 months to Dec. 31, up 8% from the previous year.

It proposed a cash dividend of 0.37 riyals per share for the second half of 2024, raising the total payout for the whole financial year to 0.70 riyals apiece on the back of "the highest set of (annual) results in the group’s history on all key financial metrics".

QNB said loans and advances reached 911 billion riyals in 2024, up 7% from the previous year, helping the bank grow its total assets to 1.3 trillion riyals.

Deposits at the lender, which is 50%-owned by the Gulf county's sovereign wealth fund QIA, grew 3% in the period to 887 billion riyals, the bank said citing a "successful diversification of deposit generation", without providing further detail.

Most Gulf markets in red on US rate cut uncertainty | Reuters

Most Gulf markets in red on US rate cut uncertainty | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday, as unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data reinforced expectations of prolonged elevated interest rates in the world's largest economy.

The hawkish jolt from the jobs data also raised the stakes for Wednesday's consumer price figures where a core measure rise above the forecast of 0.2% could close the door on easing altogether.

Markets have already scaled back expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts to just 27 basis points for all of 2025, with the Fed now expected to cut 100 basis points less than anticipated last year.

At least five Fed officials are on the docket to speak this week and offer their reaction to the jobs surprise, with the influential Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams appearing on Wednesday.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by the Fed's decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab lost 0.1%, weighed down by a 1.8% decline in the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (1211.SE), opens new tab.

Separately, the kingdom plans to monetize all minerals, including by selling uranium, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI), opens new tab retreated 1.8%, as almost all its constituents were in negative territory, including the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNB) (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, which was down 1.5%.

Post-trading hours, QNB posted a 10% rise in fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier, slightly beating analyst estimates.

The Abu Dhabi index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was down 0.4%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMFGI), opens new tab edged 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.2% rise in top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU), opens new tab.

Elsewhere, Aramex (ARMX.DU), opens new tab surged 14.7%, as Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ plans to launch a cash takeover offer, bidding for the shares it does not already own in the Dubai-listed courier firm.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab slid 2.5%, with Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab losing 3.4%.