SHARJAH: Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) announced that its operating profit before provisions increased by 31.9 percent, amounting to AED 327.7 million for the first quarter of 2023, as compared to AED 248.5 million for the same period last year.
Net profit reached AED 233.1 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2023 compared to AED 187.0 million for the same period last year, an increase of 24.6 percent.
Net income on financing and investment products rose by 26.1 percent, an increase of AED 76.6 million, reaching AED 370.4 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared to AED 293.8 million for the same period last year. Net fees, commissions and other income increased by 25.3 percent to reach AED 113.5 million, compared to AED 90.5 million for the same period the previous year.
As for general and administrative expenses, the SIB achieved a noticeable improvement in the cost-to-income ratio, which reached 32.26 percent compared to 37.96 percent at the end of last year. Expenditures amounted to AED 156.1 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023, compared to AED 135.8 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of AED 20.3 million.
To enhance the SIB’s financial position and in line with its policy of augmenting provisions, the SIB recorded an increase in net impairment provisions amounting to AED 94.7 million, compared to AED 61.5 million for the previous period, an increase of AED 33.2 million or 54.0 percent.
Total assets reached AED 60.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023, an increase of AED 1.1 billion or 1.9 percent compared to AED 59.1 billion at the end of 2022.
The bank has maintained a strong liquidity position as its total liquid assets amounted to AED 14.1 billion, 23.3 percent of its total assets, compared to 23.9 percent at the end of the previous year. On the other hand, the Islamic financing to customer deposits ratio stood at a strong 72.6 percent compared to 77.6 percent last year.
Total customer financing stabilised at AED 30.4 billion, approximately at the same level as last year at AED 30.7 billion.
The SIB’s total investment in financial securities rose by AED 1.7 billion or 20 percent, reaching AED 10.3 billion compared to AED 8.5 billion at the end of last year.
Customer deposits witnessed a surge of AED 2.3 billion or 5.9 percent, reaching AED 41.9 billion during the first quarter, compared to AED 39.5 billion at the end of last year, as a result of adding new products to meet customer needs.
Sharjah Islamic Bank has a solid capital base with total shareholders’ equity amounting to AED 7.5 billion at the end of March 2023, representing 12.4 percent of the SIB’s total assets. Thus, the SIB maintains a high capital adequacy ratio under Basel III at 19.9 percent compared to 19.09 percent last year. The average return on assets increased significantly to 1.56 percent compared to 1.14 percent last year, while the average return on equity also rose to 12.33 percent (annualised) compared to 8.49 percent in 2022.
