Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Gulf state's largest sharia-compliant lender by assets, reported a 19 percent jump in first-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analysts' forecasts. The bank was one of three Islamic lenders in the Gulf to report earnings on Wednesday. Dubai Islamic Bank and Kuwait Finance House also reported double-digit profit increases. QIB's strong performance reflected higher income from financing and investment activities, which rose by 12 percent in the three months to the end of March from the same period of last year, the bank said in a statement. Net fee and commission income grew by 17 percent over the same time period. The Islamic bank's first-quarter net profit was 400 million riyals ($109.9 million). It did not provide a figure for the corresponding period of 2014. The bank previously reported net profit of 335.4 million riyals for the same period a year ago. Six analysts on average forecast a net profit of 398.8 million riyals for the period in a Reuters poll. In February, QIB's shareholders approved a Tier 1 capital boosting sukuk of up to 5 billion riyals. The bank is one of several Gulf lenders considering debt markets as a way to replenish its reserves after a period of strong lending growth.
