Bank of Sharjah reported a net profit of Dh58 million ($15.79 million) for the first quarter of 2017, against Dh81 million for the same period of 2016.

As a result, earnings per share for the period were down by 30 per cent and reached 2.6 fils compared to 3.7 fils in the same period of 2016, the bank said.  

Ahmed Al Noman, chairman of the board, stated that the net profit was affected mainly by an Dh21 million downturn in the market value of strategic investments which is expected to be recovered during 2017.

“While it is too early to predict year-end figures, we expect a sustained performance to meet the budget of 2017,” he said.

The bank’s total assets reached Dh28.880 billion, an increase of 4 per cent over the corresponding March 31, 2016 figure of Dh27.651 billion. When compared to December 31, 2016 figure, total assets increased by 7 per cent from Dh27.097 billion.

Customers’ deposits reached Dh18.839 billion, a decrease of 2 per cent over the corresponding March 31, 2016 figure of Dh19.303 billion. When compared to December 31, 2016 figure, customers’ deposits decreased by 4 per cent from Dh19.737 billion.

Loans and advances reached Dh16.561 billion, 8 per cent above the corresponding March 31, 2016 figure of Dh15.402 billion, and 3 per cent less than the December 31, 2016 balance of Dh17.075 billion.

Capital Adequacy ratio kept its strong level and stood at a high of 21.54 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, the bank said.

Net interest income and non-interest income decreased by 7 per cent and 54 per cent respectively compared to the corresponding period of 2016 which was reflected in a 16 per cent decrease in the net operating income to reach Dh132 million in the first quarter of 2017 compared to Dh157 million in the same period of 2016. - TradeArabia News Service