SHARJAH, (Pakistan Point News - 20th Oct, 2019) The Sharjah Islamic Bank, SIB, reported a net profit of AED415.4 million for the first nine months of 2019, compared to AED397.7 million for the same period last year, with a projected increase of 4.5 percent. The bank's total assets reached AED45.6 billion as of the end of the third quarter of 2019, with an increase of AED890.2 million from December 31, 2018.
On the assets side, total customer financing reached AED25.4 billion at the end of third quarter 2019, compared to AED24.1 billion at the end of 2018, an increase of AED1.3 billion, or 5.3 percent.
The bank has continued to pursue its conservative strategy of maintaining its liquidity level at above 20 percent of total assets. As a result, liquid assets reached AED9.3 billion or 20.5 percent of total assets at the end of the third quarter of 2019.
On the liabilities side, customer deposits stabilised during the year to reach AED26.9 billion, with an increase of AED412.5 million, or 1.6 percent, compared to the end of last year.
The net operating income reached AED980.5 million at the end of the third quarter this year, compared to AED815.4 million during the same period of 2018, an increase of AED165.1 million or 20.2 percent.
The Sharjah Islamic Bank has a strong capital base. The equity of total shareholders at the end of the third quarter this year reached AED 7.5 billion, representing 16.4 percent of the bank's total assets, with an increase of AED2.1 billion, mainly due to the issuance of Tire 1 Sukuk during the third quarter, amounting to US$500 million (AED1.8 billion).
The issuance of Tire 1 Sukuk encouraged international investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and London, reflecting the strength of the bank and its financial solvency, attracting major institutions and individuals globally for this Sukuk. The capital adequacy ratio during the year reached 22.03 percent.
Towards the second quarter 2019, the S&P international rating agency had raised the long-term credit rating of SIB from "BBB+" to "A- Stable".
