The Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has reported a net profit of Dh415.4 million ($113 million) for the first nine months of 2019, compared to Dh397.7 million for the same period last year, with a projected increase of 4.5 percent.

The bank's total assets reached Dh45.6 billion as of the end of the third quarter of 2019, with an increase of Dh890.2 million from December 31, 2018, reported Emirates news agency Wam.

On the assets side, total customer financing reached Dh25.4 billion at the end of third quarter 2019, compared to Dh24.1 billion at the end of 2018, an increase of Dh1.3 billion, or 5.3 percent.

The bank has continued to pursue its conservative strategy of maintaining its liquidity level at above 20 percent of total assets. As a result, liquid assets reached Dh9.3 billion or 20.5 percent of total assets at the end of the third quarter of 2019.

On the liabilities side, customer deposits stabilised during the year to reach Dh26.9 billion, with an increase of Dh412.5 million, or 1.6 percent, compared to the end of last year.

The net operating income reached Dh980.5 million at the end of the third quarter this year, compared to Dh815.4 million during the same period of 2018, an increase of Dh165.1 million or 20.2 percent.

The Sharjah Islamic Bank has a strong capital base. The equity of total shareholders at the end of the third quarter this year reached Dh 7.5 billion, representing 16.4 percent of the bank's total assets, with an increase of Dh2.1 billion, mainly due to the issuance of Tire 1 Sukuk during the third quarter, amounting to $500 million (Dh1.8 billion).

The issuance of Tire 1 Sukuk encouraged international investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and London, reflecting the strength of the bank and its financial solvency, attracting major institutions and individuals globally for this Sukuk. The capital adequacy ratio during the year reached 22.03 percent.

Towards the second quarter 2019, the S&P international rating agency had raised the long-term credit rating of SIB from "BBB+" to "A- Stable".