Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) today announced its results for the first half of 2007. During the period, net profit rose to AED 1.5 billion, an increase of 113 per cent compared to AED 707 million for the corresponding period in 2006.

The total profit for H1 2007, including depositors’ profits, stood at AED 2.9 billion, an increase of 101 per cent compared to AED 1.4 billion for the corresponding period in 2006.

Customer deposits showed strong growth of 57 per cent, reaching AED 59.7 billion at the end of H1 2007, compared to AED 38.1 billion by end of H1 2006. The bank’s total assets increased by 51 per cent to AED 75.5 billion, compared to AED 49.9 billion by the end of H1 2006. Financing activities increased 62 per cent to AED 45.37 billion, compared to AED 27.95 billion in the same period of 2006.

Profits for the first half of 2007 include exceptional profits amounting AED 617 million from a bank subsidiary.

Dr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Khirbash, UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry and Chairman of DIB, said: “The bank’s impressive performance during the first half of this year reflects the success of our strategy to diversify our products and services to meet the growing demands of the market.”

He added: “This success is due to the high growth of our core banking services across all business units, such as retail, corporate, real estate and investment banking, supported by an expansion plan in the local, regional and international markets.”

He noted: “The bank consolidated its role in the financing sector as it continued to provide financial solutions, products and services that helped large government organisations and semi-government entities as well as private organisations benefit from such deals.”

He added: “DIB has joined hands with strategic partners to launch special purpose vehicles in fields such as investment, real estate development, advisory and private equity funds, offering services and products that cater to both local and regional markets. These companies achieved strong financial performance and provided high-quality expertise to the market.”

Recently, DIB was ranked among the fastest-moving banks in the world for the second consecutive year in the annual Top 1,000 World Bank list published by ‘The Banker’ magazine, part of the widely respected Financial Times Group. In this year’s annual Top 1,000 Bank rankings, DIB was ranked 223rd in the world based on the bank’s strong Tier 1 Capital.

In recognition of its leading role in the local and international arenas, DIB received a number of awards in 2007, including the Best Product Innovation Award for work on Sukuk at the Banker Middle East Awards and the Best Islamic Real Estate Finance Award during the Cityscape exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

As recognition of its leading role in the international arena, DIB has received many awards from international organizations such as the prestigious “Bank of the Year - UAE” award for 2006 by ‘The Banker’ magazine and accolades from ‘Euromoney’ magazine. In 2006, DIB received international credit ratings from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.