Sharjah Islamic Bank’s nine-month profit rises 9% to Dh1.2 billion

Dubai: Sharjah Islamic Bank reported a 9% increase in net profit after tax to Dh1.2 billion for the first nine months of 2026, supported by higher income from Islamic financing and sukuk investments.

Profit rose by Dh100 million from Dh1.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Total operating income increased 13.6%, or Dh250.3 million, to Dh2.1 billion.

Income from Islamic financing and sukuk investments grew 11.7% to Dh3.2 billion, according to the bank. Distributions to depositors and sukuk holders amounted to Dh1.8 billion, compared with Dh1.7 billion a year earlier.

Net fee and commission income and other income declined 4.1% to Dh662.2 million from Dh690.4 million.

Expenses, impairments rise

General and administrative expenses increased 17.4% to Dh726.6 million from Dh619 million. The bank attributed the increase to spending on employees, digital and technology infrastructure, systems and customer services.

Its cost-to-income ratio stood at 34.7%, compared with 36.1% at the end of 2025. This comparison uses the previous year-end figure, rather than the corresponding nine-month period.

Net operating income before impairment allowances and tax increased 11.6% to Dh1.4 billion from Dh1.2 billion.

Net impairment allowances on financial assets, after recoveries, rose to Dh42.1 million from Dh11.9 million in the first nine months of 2025.

The non-performing financing ratio declined to 3.2% from 3.8% at the end of 2025. Provision coverage for non-performing financing stood at 108% on September 30, compared with 109% at the previous year-end.

Financing outpaces deposits

The Islamic financing portfolio reached Dh54.1 billion, up from Dh45.6 billion at the end of 2025. The bank reported growth of 18.9%.

Customer deposits increased 8.4% to Dh60.4 billion from Dh55.7 billion. With financing expanding faster than deposits, the financing-to-customer-deposits ratio rose to 89.7% from 81.8%.

The bank reported total assets of about Dh100 billion at the end of September, compared with Dh90.3 billion at the end of 2025.

Liquid assets stood at Dh21.2 billion, equivalent to 21.3% of total assets. Their share of total assets was 22.3% at the previous year-end.

Rights issue strengthens capital

Shareholders’ equity increased by Dh2.9 billion to Dh12.4 billion from Dh9.5 billion at the end of 2025, supported by a rights issue completed in the second quarter.

The bank issued 1.1 billion shares with a nominal value of Dh1 each and an issue premium of Dh1.40 per share. Its capital adequacy ratio rose to 19.37% from 16.17% at the end of 2025.

Sharjah Islamic Bank also issued $500 million in sukuk during the reporting period as part of its funding diversification. Its outstanding sukuk balance reached Dh7.3 billion on September 30.

The bank said the expanded capital base would support financing growth, business expansion and investment opportunities in Islamic banking.