Emirates NBD, the UAE’s biggest bank by asset value, today reported a 13 per cent decline in second-quarter profit in a set of results that nonetheless exceeded the expectations of several analysts.

The bank announced net profit for the three months to June 30 fell to Dhs647 million ($ 176 million) from Dhs744 million in the same period a year earlier.
A poll of analysts by financial data giant Bloomberg had predicted earnings somewhere in the region of Dhs613 million.

Emirates NBD chief executive Rick Pudner said the bank had achieved a “robust” performance despite “a continuing challenging external environment”.

In a conference call earlier today, Pudner told journalists that the bank now has 105 branches across the UAE.

Looking forward he said that he expected the global environment to remain challenging, particularly given events in Europe, but with the UAE expect to grow by around three per cent in 2012, there were reasons for cautious optimism.

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