Sharjah Islamic Bank Posts 9% Profit Gain as Financing Book Jumps 18.9%
Nine-month net profit reached $327 million, with total assets touching $27.2 billion after a rights issue lifted the capital adequacy ratio to 19.37%.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Sharjah Islamic Bank raised net profit after tax by 9% to $327 million (AED 1.2 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, up from $299.5 million (AED 1.1 billion) a year earlier, as its financing book and sukuk holdings expanded.
Income from Islamic financing and sukuk investments climbed 11.7% year on year to $871 million (AED 3.2 billion). Distributions to depositors and sukuk holders reached $490 million (AED 1.8 billion), against $462.9 million (AED 1.7 billion) in the matching period of 2025.
Operating income and costs
Total operating income advanced 13.6% to $572 million (AED 2.1 billion). Net operating income before impairment allowances and tax came in 11.6% higher at $381 million (AED 1.4 billion).
Fee income moved the other way. Net fees, commissions and other income fell 4.1% to $180.3 million (AED 662.2 million), which left the bank's core financing and investment activities carrying the growth.
General and administrative expenses rose 17.4% to $197.8 million (AED 726.6 million), covering employee costs, technology infrastructure, systems and customer services. Despite that increase, the cost-to-income ratio improved to 34.7% from 36.1% at the close of 2025, helped by the faster rise in operating income.
Balance sheet and lending
Total assets stood at $27.2 billion (AED 100 billion) on September 30, 10.4% above the level recorded at the end of December 2025.
The Islamic financing portfolio grew 18.9% to $14.7 billion (AED 54.1 billion), from $12.4 billion (AED 45.6 billion) at the previous year-end. Customer deposits rose at a slower 8.4% to $16.4 billion (AED 60.4 billion), pushing the financing-to-deposits ratio to 89.7% from 81.8%.
Liquid assets totaled $5.8 billion (AED 21.2 billion), equal to 21.3% of total assets, a slightly thinner cushion than the 22.3% held at the end of 2025.
The bank reported first-half 2026 earnings of $218.9 million (AED 803.9 million), growth of 15.3% year on year.
Capital and funding
Shareholders' equity increased to $3.4 billion (AED 12.4 billion) after a capital increase completed through a rights issue in the second quarter. The bank issued 1.1 billion shares at a nominal value of $0.27 (AED 1) each, with an issue premium of $0.38 (AED 1.40) per share.
The capital adequacy ratio rose to 19.37% from 16.17% at the end of 2025, widening the buffer available to support further financing growth.
SIB also sold $500 million in sukuk during the period, taking its outstanding sukuk balance to roughly $2 billion (AED 7.3 billion) as of September 30. The issuance formed part of a strategy to broaden its sources of funding and deepen its position in international capital markets.
The lender placed 93rd in a 2025 ranking of the region's 100 largest listed companies.
