General Assembly of Sharjah Islamic Bank Sanctions Distribution Cash Shares Of Dh 242.6 Million

Bank gained net profits of Dh 377.2 million by December of 2014

Sharjah: United Arab Emirates, Sharjah Islamic Bank’s board of directors approved a cash dividend worth Dh242.6 million, at a 10% of the nominal share value, with the approval of the UAE Central Bank.

This action was announced during the general assembly meeting of Sharjah Islamic Bank, held at Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the presence of the board members, the top management, shareholders, banking and finance experts in the UAE.

During the meeting, HE Abdul Rahman Al Owais who is the Chairman of Sharjah Islamic Bank, presented the good development in the 2014 annual financial results and also added that the bank acquired net profits of Dh377.3 million till the end of 2014, an increase of 23%, from Dh301.1 million during 2013.

This proves the strength of the bank’s financial obligations, while the sturdiness of its financial results, enabled it to achieve many successes, and has obtained an A3 rating by Moody’s credit rating agency.

Al Owais greeted His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member Supreme Council, for his infinite support to the development of the banking sector in particular and the Islamic economic sector in general, and for his special interest in Sharjah Islamic Bank’s activities. He showed hearty thanks to His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Sharjah, for his extensive support to the bank. Al Owais showed his appreciation for the excellent financial results achieved by Sharjah Islamic Bank during the last year, which further enhanced its financial standing and capital foundation, increasing the capacity of the bank to receive many national and international awards.

In 2014, Sharjah Islamic Bank’s total assets grew by Dh19.7% to Dh26 billion from Dh21.7 billion at the end of 2013. Total liquid assets rose to Dh6.3 billion, representing 24.1% of the bank’s budget, from Dh5.1 billion at the end of 2013.

Customer funding increased by Dh 14.5 billion to Dh 2 billion, with a 15.6% rise, reflecting the bank’s good use of available liquidity, diversity in financing portfolio and distribution of risks in a prudent and suitable manner.

As for liabilities, and thanks to the expansion of the network of branches and increase in its customer base, customer deposits increased by Dh 2.7 billion to reach Dh14.6 billion, recording a growth rate of 22.6 % since the end of 2013, which supports the bank’s ability to achieve development plans placed by the board of directors .

The report said total shareholders’ equity reached Dh4.6 billion, representing 17.6 % of the bank’s total budget, which reflected positively on solvency indicators as capital adequacy ratio, according to Basel, reached 23.92 % and is rising significantly above the 12% requirement by the UAE Central Bank.

Al Owais added  that the bank will continue to focus on serving its customers by using the latest technology to meet their needs and enhance their banking experience. It will also continue working on value-added and sustainable growth in a competitive business environment to serve its shareholders and customers. The bank exhibited three new branches, bringing its total number of branches operating in the UAE to 31 till March of 2015.

Al Owais praised the bank’s achievements in community services, as it participated in the provision of care, support and donations to many educational, cultural, health,  humanitarian and environmental centers, to support overall development and increase progress.

The chairman hailed customers and shareholders for their support and confidence in the bank, and thanked board members, president and members of the Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board, executive management and staff for their big efforts that stood behind the bank’s outstanding achievements.