Sharjah Islamic Bank's Net Profit Rises 25.8% To AED 622.4 Million For H1 2024

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) reported a 25.8% increase in net profit, reaching AED 622.4 million for the first six months of 2024. This marked an increase from AED 494.6 million the previous year. After-tax, net profit was AED 566.2 million, a 14.5% rise.

This revenue growth is due to SIB's strong performance, customer-focused approach, and new high-profit products. Income from financing and investment products increased by 22.8% or AED 327.8 million, amounting to AED 1.8 billion for the first half of 2024.

Net fees, commissions, and other income grew by 20.6%, reaching AED 294.1 million, compared to AED 243.8 million last year, WAM reported.

General and administrative expenses were AED 339.4 million at the end of the first half of this year, up from AED 315.7 million in the same period in 2023. The cost-to-income ratio improved to 33.0%, compared to 34.7% for the full year 2023, according to the report.

The Group's total assets reached AED 74.2 billion as of June 30, 2024, an increase of AED 8.4 billion or 12.7%, compared to AED 65.9 billion at the end of the previous year. The Group has strong liquidity, with AED 17.0 billion, representing 22.9% of total assets, up from 20.8% at the end of the previous year.

SIB's total investments in Islamic financing reached AED 35.2 billion, up AED 2.2 billion or 6.6% from AED 33.0 billion at the end of the previous year. This growth aligns with SIB's careful credit policy, considering economic and political challenges.

The ratio of investments in Islamic finance to customer deposits reached 71.2%, aligning with the management's strategic goals.

Total investment securities rose by AED 2.6 billion (19.1%), reaching AED 16.1 billion, up from AED 13.5 billion at the end of the previous year. The Group's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 5.5% as of 30 June 2024, slightly down from 5.6% last year.

This reflects careful risk management, prudent provisioning for troubled loans, and a higher coverage ratio of 94.7% as of June 2024, up from 93.8% at the end of the previous year.

Customer deposits increased by AED 4.3 billion (9.4%), reaching AED 49.5 billion in the first half of 2024, compared to AED 45.2 billion at the end of 2023.

SIB has a strong capital base, with total shareholders' equity of AED 8.3 billion as of June 2024, representing 11.2% of the Group's total assets. The capital adequacy ratio was 17.22%, meeting Basel-III standards.