Bank of Sharjah's net profit rises 13% in Q1

Bank of Sharjah today announced its financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2014.

Bank of Sharjah’s net profit for the first quarter of 2014 increased by 13 per cent to reach Dh79 million, compared with Dh70 million for the same period of 2013.

Loans and advances reached Dh13,426 million, 6 per cent above the corresponding March 31, 2013, figure of Dh12,655 million, and 2 per cent more than the December 31, 2013, balance of Dh13,135 million.

Total assets reached Dh24,536 million, an increase of 5 per cent over the corresponding March 31, 2013, figure of Dh23,347 million. When compared to the December 31, 2013, figure, total assets  declined by 2 per cent from Dh27,973 million. This was mainly driven by the 3 per cent decline in customer deposits from Dh18,374 million in December 2013 to Dh17,830 million as of March 31, 2014. However, when compared to the same period of last year, customer deposits increased by 6 per cent from Dh16,742 million.

According to the bank's management,this explains the 13 per cent drop in net liquidity between December 2013 and March 2014. However, it remains at Dh6.5 billion, representing more than 36 per cent of customer deposits.

Shareholders’ equity at the end of the first quarter stood at Dh4,243 million, 7 per cent above the balance for the corresponding period of 2013. However, it declined by 3 per cent when compared to the December 31, 2013, figure of Dh4,353 million. This was mainly caused by the Dh176 million 2013 declared cash dividend.

Net interest income declined by 12 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2013. However, net operating income increased by 4 per cent to reach Dh134 million as a result of the increase in non-interest income.

The impairment charge on financial assets for the first quarter of 2014 declined by 32 per cent, as a result of the improved economic environment and the overall performance of the credit portfolio. 

According to the bank's management, all the above led to the 13 per cent increase in net profit for Q1 2014 reaching Dh79 million, against Dh70 million for the same period of 2013. As a result, earnings per share for the period were up by 26 per cent and reached 3.4 fils compared to 2.7 fils in 2013. 

During April 2014, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Bank of Sharjah’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at ‘BBB+’ with a stable outlook.

Commenting on the results Ahmed Al Noman, the Chairman of the Board, expressed the Board’s satisfaction with the results, stressing that the year is likely to witness positive developments that could lift the profits up to the pre-2008 levels.

Varouj Nerguizian, the bank’s Executive Director and General Manager, said: “Bank of Sharjah posted noteworthy loan growth and profitability during the first quarter and .”