National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) reported net profits of Dh 1.446 billion in 2Q'15, up 1% year-over-year and 2% sequentially. Net profits for 1H'15 were Dh 2.869 billion, up 1% versus 1H'14.

This represents higher diluted EPS of Dh 0.53 for 1H'15 versus Dh 0.52 for 1H'14.

Underlying franchise growth in strategically targeted areas of our businesses drove revenue growth in the first half of the year. During the 2nd quarter, expenses were relatively flat and credit quality remained very strong. Balance sheet growth was strong year-over-year, driven by a strong uptick in lending. In the second quarter, continued lending growth combined with a decline in customer deposits resulted in a higher loan-to-deposit ratio.

The Bank's return on equity (RoE) of 14.4% in 1H 2015 continues to remain attractive, and is in line with the medium-term target of 15%.

Nasser Alsowaidi, Chairman of NBAD said, "In the first half of 2015, NBAD delivered consistent profits in an increasingly difficult environment, whilst maintaining a strong balance sheet and robust capital position. We have made great strides in growing our market share in Abu Dhabi through initiatives such as continuously improving customer service and refurbishing our branch network."

In the 2nd quarter, "we reopened our main Abu Dhabi headquarters branch, launched a new mobile banking application, and unveiled an exciting sponsorship with Dubai Mall and a partnership with Al Futtaim Group."

NBAD also continued to expand its presence on the global stage, hosting the 3rd instalment of our GFM Series in Cairo, which was a successful event in one of the bank's key markets outside of the UAE.

After a strong first half, we are now well positioned for the second half of 2015."

Alex Thursby, Group Chief Executive said, "I am pleased with our second quarter results. We continue to execute against our strategy, and our franchise is growing well in strategically targeted areas. We generated strong results in Global Wholesale flow products, our Retail & Commercial business, as well as International, which has become an integral part of the development of our Wholesale and Wealth network businesses. We delivered this growth despite economic and market headwinds, including lower oil prices, margin compression and lower non-customer income in our Global Markets business."

He added that the investment" we have made in our business is delivering real benefits, and our expense growth is now moderating as expected, with costs broadly flat over the last two quarters."