DUBAI: Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, posted a 16 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday as net interest income jumped and impairments for bad loans eased.
The bank made a net profit of 2.64 billion dirhams ($718.8 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, a statement from the bank said, compared to 2.28 billion dirhams in the corresponding period of 2017.
The results were broadly in line with the average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters of a net profit of 2.57 billion dirhams.
The bank, 55.6 percent owned by state fund Investment Corp., is the latest United Arab Emirates-based bank to report positive profit growth during the quarter and follows First Abu Dhabi Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank also reporting double-digit profit rises.
Net interest income increased 18 percent from the same quarter of last year, while net interest margins also improved to 2.9 percent, which the bank attributed to rate rises feeding through to the loan portfolio. That helped overcome the impact of a 1 percent drop in non-interest income and a 15 percent rise in costs over the same period.
Reflecting an improved outlook for Dubai’s economy, provisions for bad loans fell 18 percent to 353 million dirhams during the quarter.
The bank, which raised a $2 billion three-year loan late last month, said in August it was closely monitoring the situation in Turkey after a plunge in the lira since it acquired Turkey’s Denizbank from Russia’s state-owned Sberbank in a $3.2 billion deal announced in May.
Arqaam Capital has said it expects the acquisition price to be revised down sharply and for the deal to close in the fourth quarter.
Emirates NBD’s loans and advances stood at 324.7 billion dirhams at the end of September, up 7 percent since the end of last year. Deposits increased 4 percent over the same period to 341.2 billion dirhams.
Emirates NBD third-quarter profit rises 16%
Emirates NBD third-quarter profit rises 16%
- The bank is the latest UAE-based bank to report positive profit growth during the quarter
- Net interest income increased 18 percent from the same quarter of last year
Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit widens to $25.3bn in Q4 2025 as spending rises
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s capital spending rose 18 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2025, while higher overall expenditure widened the Kingdom’s budget deficit to SR94.85 billion ($25.28 billion), official data showed.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s Quarterly Budget Performance Report, government spending increased to SR371.6 billion in the three months to December, up 3 percent from SR360.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Capital expenditure — classified as spending on non-financial assets — climbed to SR50.9 billion in the fourth quarter from SR43.1 billion a year earlier, highlighting sustained investment in infrastructure and development projects.
Total revenues reached SR276.7 billion in the quarter, increasing from SR269.9 billion in the third quarter but declining about 9 percent from a year earlier due to weaker oil income.
Oil revenues totaled SR154.2 billion in the fourth quarter, down 10 percent year on year despite a quarterly increase supported by higher production levels. For the full year, oil revenues fell around 20 percent to SR606.5 billion from SR756.6 billion in 2024.
Non-oil revenues — a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s diversification strategy — stood at SR122.6 billion in the fourth quarter. On an annual basis, non-oil revenues rose by 1 percent to SR505.3 billion in 2025, compared with SR502.5 billion the previous year.
Saudi Arabia maintained an expansionary fiscal stance throughout 2025, with total government expenditure reaching SR1.39 trillion, up 1 percent from SR1.36 trillion in 2024.
Spending increased across several priority sectors. Education expenditure rose 4 percent to SR212.5 billion, while health and social development spending increased 2 percent to SR278.9 billion.
Military and security sector spending climbed about 5 percent to SR249.1 billion, while public administration expenditure grew 7 percent. Spending on general items rose 3 percent, and regional administration outlays increased marginally by 0.4 percent.
For the full fiscal year, total revenues reached SR1.11 trillion against expenditure of SR1.388 trillion, resulting in a budget deficit of SR276.6 billion — exceeding earlier government projections as oil revenues declined.
Public debt rose to SR1.52 trillion at the end of 2025, compared with SR1.22 trillion a year earlier, as the Kingdom increased borrowing to finance fiscal gaps while continuing to fund large-scale development and infrastructure projects.
