Abu Dhabi Exchange-listed National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) has reported a 30.5 per cent increase in net profit for the first half of the year.

Net profit for the first six months of the year stood at AED239.5m ($65m), compared with AED183.5m recorded in the same time period last year, while operating profit rose by 17 per cent to reach AED304.6m.

The bank also saw the quality of its assets improve, with net impairment losses reaching AED65.1m for the first half compared with AED76.8m in the same period last year. NBF also reduced its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to 4.7 per cent in the first half, from 6.7 per cent recorded in the same period last year.

The bank did report an increase of 19.1 per cent in its operating expenses, which reflects increased investment in the lender’s offerings. In May, NBF launched a new structured trade commodity financing facility supporting commodity trading for UAE-based companies.

NBF’s total assets reached AED23.5bn, an increase of 27.8 per cent per cent on last year’s first-half figures.

Its loans and advances portfolio grew by 15.1 per cent, compared with the first half of last year, while customer deposits increased by 33.8 per cent.