Sharjah Islamic Bank announced an increase in its operating profit before provisions by 25.6%, amounting to AED 417.3 million for the first six months, compared to AED 332.3 million for the same period of the previous year. Net profit amounts to AED 289.5 million for the six months period ended June 30 2021 compared to AED 251.2 million for the same period of the previous year, an increase of 15.2%, despite an increase in net impairment provisions, which amounts to AED 127.8 million, compared to AED 81.1 million for the previous year, an increase of AED 46.7 million, equivalent to 57.6%. Strong results are a reflection of Bank’s robust business policies on the face of challenging global operational conditions owing to the on-going Corona pandemic.

Net income on financing and investment products increased by 16.3%, equivalent to an increase of AED 75.5 million, to reach AED 538 million for the first six months of 2021, compared to AED 462.6 million for the same period last year, whereas, net fees, commissions and other income increased by 14.8% to reach AED 152 million, compared to AED 138.7 million for the same period in the previous year.

The Bank maintained the same level of expenses compared to previous period, where the general and administrative expenses amounts to AED 272.8 million at the end of the first half of 2021, compared to AED 269.0 million for the same period in 2020;a marginal increase of AED 3.7 million, or 1.4%.

The balance sheet of the bank showed an increase in total assets by 1.5% to reach AED 54.4 billion as on June 30, 2021, compared to AED 53.6 billion for the previous year.

The bank has continued to maintain a strong liquidity, which amounted to AED 13.0 billion, at a rate of 23.8% to the total assets, compared to AED 11.2 billion, or 20.9% of the total assets at the end of the previous year.

The bank continued to diversify its financing portfolio in various economic sectors and follows a wise credit policy that takes into account all developments associated with the Corona pandemic and its impact on financial markets, as the total customer financings stabilized at an amount of AED 29.3 billion, at the same level of previous year end.

The bank was able to attract a larger volume of customer deposits during the period, as deposits increased by 4.1%, bringing the total deposits to AED 35.0 billion, compared to AED 33.6 billion at the end of 2020.

Sharjah Islamic Bank has a strong capital base, as the total shareholders’ equity at the end of June 2021 amounted to AED 7.6 billion, which represents 14.0% of the Bank’s total assets. Thus, the Bank maintained a high capital adequacy ratio in accordance with Basel III at20.77%. Hence, the rate of return on average assets and average equity increased significantly, at 1.07% and 7.6%annualised, respectively, compared to 0.81% and 5.35% at the end of the previous year.