Jan 18 (Reuters) - Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) , the Gulf state's second largest lender by market value, posted a 32.6 percent dip in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, missing analysts' forecasts.
QIB made a net profit of 265 million riyals ($72.8 million), according to Reuters calculations, compared with 393 million riyals a year earlier and below analysts' average forecast of 394.2 million riyals. (source)
The bank posted a full-year net profit of 1.37 billion riyals, an 8 percent increase over its 2010 profit due to growth in investment income, which climbed 631 million riyals, a statement said.
It proposed a 45 percent dividend distribution.
The results "come on the back of a strategic transformation programme that the bank is implementing to restructure both its local operations and its affiliates in order to build a strong banking group with regional and international presence," QIB Chairman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani said in the statement.
QIB is said to be planning to raise between $500 million and$1 billion via a sale of sukuk, or Islamic bonds.
The lender pulled out of a deal to buy a majority stake in Indonesian Islamic lender PT Bank Muamalat, banking sources said in July.
Qatar's central bank has told conventional banks to stop offering Islamic banking services by the end of 2011, a move seen as boosting Islamic lenders in the Gulf state.
Banks in Qatar are expected to benefit as the country is one of the world's fastest growing economies, set to spend more on infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.
Earlier this month Qatar National Bank (QNB), the first major regional lender to report earnings and considered a bellwether for the sector's performance, posted an 40 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit. [ID: nL6E8C9262]
QIB shares closed up 0.2 percent before the results were announced. ($1=3.638 Qatari riyals) (Reporting By Regan Doherty; Editing by Firouz Sedarat)
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