Bank of Sharjah shareholders approve dividends

The General Assembly of Bank of Sharjah has approved distribution of 9.116 per cent cash dividend and 60 million shares from the treasury shares worth close to Dh135 million, representing a 6.9 per cent return on the outstanding shares.

Ahmed Al Noman, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said during 2013 the world economy has witnessed remarkable growth in general and in particular the US economy, which in turn left its positive impact on the international financial markets.

As for the UAE, the country has performed exceptionally well at all levels despite the difficult conditions in the region. The country has witnessed economic prosperity across all the sectors induced by a wave of optimism underpinned by the improvement in the international economy and Dubai winning the Expo 2020. All this positively impacted the job market, the tourism sector, and the property market with the announcement of a number of new development projects.

He added that the year 2013 was a year of growth for the bank with total assets crossing Dh25 billion, an increase of 9 per cent; total liabilities reached Dh20.6 billion, up by 11 per cent; total equity reached Dh4.3 billion, an increase of 4 per cent, while deposit base grew by 12 per cent to reach Dh18.374 billion.

Nerguizian declared that due to the confidence of the shareholders, clients and correspondents, the bank’s net profit increased 27 per cent during 2013 to reach Dh353 million against Dh277 million in 2012, while total comprehensive income increased by 59 per cent to reach Dh433 million. Whereas, total profit available for distribution stood at Dh621 million up by 14 per cent.

The shareholders also approved reports of the external auditors, board of directors’ report and the consolidated financial statements, and elected a new board for the next three years.