Board of directors’ report for the financial year ended 31/12/2008: Doha bank continued its record of success by producing the best financial performance ratios and the highest organizational and service levels yet again in 2008.
Locally, four new branches have been inaugurated in 2008 taking the total number of branches operating in Qatar to 33 including 5 Islamic branches. The bank also has 11 e-branches, 12 pay offices, 3 mobile branches and 109 ATMs around the State of Qatar. On the International front the bank currently has a branch in New York, USA, a branch in Dubai, UAE and a branch in Kuwait as well as 7 representative offices in Singapore, Turkey, Japan, China, Romania, United Kingdom and South Korea.
Doha Bank also has a fully owned insurance company (Doha Bank Assurance Company) and has acquired a strategic stake of 49% in an Indian securities broker called Doha Brokerage & Financial Services.
Doha bank achieved solid growth rates across all financial indicators. Total assets rose from QR 30 billion in 2007 to QR39 billion in 2008, an increase of QR9 billion, which represents 30% growth. Loans and advances grew by 25% rising from QR 19.2 billion in 2007 to QR 24 billion in 2008. Overall customer deposits grew by 16% as total deposits rose from QR 20 billion in 2007 to QR 23.3 billion in 2008, an increase of QR 3.3 billion. Shareholders’ equity grew by 36% rising from QR 3.6 billion in 2007 to QR 4.9 billion in 2008, an increase of QR 1.3 billion. The net profit of the bank for year 2008 was QR. 946.5 million with an underlying growth in operating income of 16.3% which represented QR. 245.3 million. These strong results have reflected positively on the efficiency ratios in 2008. The return on average shareholders’ equity and the return on average assets rose by 25.78% and 2.74 % respectively.
Based on the anticipation of strong results the Board of Directors passed a resolution in its meeting held on 3 February 2009 to propose a recommendation to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to approve the distribution of cash dividends of QR 5 per share or 50 % of the paid-up capital.
Future plan of the bank:
The Bank’s future plan for the next 3 years includes the implementation of effective risk management strategies both locally and internationally. The plan also focuses on attracting Qatari nationals and enhancing the level of performance by hiring highly qualified and experienced bankers. Special emphasis will be placed on training programs covering all functional levels. The plan also aims at delivering state-of-the-art banking services particularly in e-banking and improving the bank's financial position by diversifying and increasing the overall assets whilst maintaining world class operating results and achieving sustainable growth in the bank's core earning capacity. The plan is also designed to diversify the bank’s sources of income with a particular focus on non-interest income. Cost management is also a key focus with the aim of adopting leading cost management practices and optimizing the cost of funds.
