UAB Q1 net profit up 23% Q1

United Arab Bank (UAB) has announced that its net profit for the first quarter of the year has increased by 23 per cent over the same period last year due to an expansion strategy which has increased its focus on retail operations. Paul Trowbridge, CEO of UAB, said in a statement that the bank's net profit was Dh75 million in the period ending March 31, an increase of 23 per cent over the same period last year, while operating profit increased by 38 per cent to Dh111.7 million. In the three months ending March 31 loans and advances increased by 12 per cent to Dh9 billion from Dh8.1 billion at the end of December 2011. Customer deposits also increased to Dh7.9 billion from Dh7.8 billion over the same period. Aramex, which competes in the Middle East with Deutsche Post's DHL and United Parcel Service Inc, said first-quarter profit climbed 22 per cent as sales rose on acquisitions in Asia and Africa. The shares gained. Net income increased to Dh61 million ($17 million) from Dh50 million in the year earlier quarter, the Dubai-based company said in a statement to the stock market Monday. Revenue increased to Dh746 million from Dh595 million. Global Investment House forecast a profit of Dh62.5 million, while EFG-Hermes Holding estimated Dh55 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Kuwaiti logistics company Agility said yesterday it had filed for $225 million (Dh826.4 million) in claims against the US Defence Logistics Agency (DLA), saying the agency had breached the terms of a contract. Agility said the US government officials employed by the DLA and Department of Justice "conspired and acted in concert to intentionally deprive Agility of its rights under the Second Prime Vendor Contract." It said this was "breaching the contract's express and implied terms and violating regulatory duties." The US Embassy in Kuwait was not immediately available for comment. The $225 million comprises the amount owed in performance-based distribution fees plus interest, Agility said. The contract entailed distributing food products to combat units.Kuwait's Ikarus Petroleum Industries is in the process of obtaining a five-year loan worth $100 million (Dh367 million) to finance expansion projects and to fund investment opportunities, Kuwait-based Al Watan daily reports Monday, citing an executive. Ikarus expects to complete the procedures for securing the loan in the second quarter, Nader Sultan, the company's chairman said, according to the paper. Ikarus has also been granted banking facilities in Saudi Arabia valued at 400 million Saudi riyals which it hasn't used so far, the daily cites him as saying.Insurance House has announced that it has broken even in less than 12 months, earlier than the end of the second full year target in its IPO prospectus. IH recorded a net profit of Dh2.68 million for the first quarter of 2012, wiping out the accumulated loss of Dh2.47 million recorded for the period from April 11 to December 31, 2011. Gross written premium from date of commencement of operations until March 31, 2012 totalled Dh28 Million with over Dh13 million underwritten during the first quarter of 2012 alone.Savola Group, a Saudi Arabian food producer, said it will pay 134 million riyals (Dh131.2 million) to purchase a building in Jeddah. Savola signed a contract with Adeem National Construction and Development to buy the building, which will be used as the company's headquarters in the city, it said in a statement to the Saudi bourse Monday.