SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates — Bank of Sharjah reported a 28.5% increase in net profit to $152 million (AED 558 million) for the first nine months of 2026, supported by stronger lending activity, higher interest income and an expanding balance sheet.
The UAE lender's net profit rose from $118.45 million (AED 435 million) during the corresponding period in 2025, according to its financial results published through the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on October 22.
Profit before tax increased 27% to $166.10 million (AED 610 million), compared with $130.70 million (AED 480 million) a year earlier. The bank attributed the improvement to growth in its core lending business, increased financial activity and stronger net interest income.
The results also reflected improvements in profitability ratios and asset quality, although the bank reported a decline in non-interest income during the period.
Net interest income climbed 39.5% to $195.24 million (AED 717 million), up from $139.96 million (AED 514 million) in the first nine months of 2025. The increase was primarily supported by growth in the bank's loan portfolio.
Net loans and advances reached $10.27 billion (AED 37.7 billion) at the end of September, representing a 24% increase from $8.28 billion (AED 30.4 billion) at the end of December 2025.
The bank linked the expansion to increased lending activity, including transactions in its wholesale banking business. Growth in customer financing contributed to higher interest earnings and supported the overall increase in operating income.
Net interest margin, which measures the difference between interest earned on assets and interest paid on funding relative to average interest-earning assets, improved to 2% from 1.7% during the corresponding period last year.
Bank of Sharjah's operating income increased 17.4% to $227.91 million (AED 837 million), compared with $194.15 million (AED 713 million) a year earlier.
Net operating income, which includes the effect of impairment reversals or losses on financial assets, rose 22.7% to $231.72 million (AED 851 million), compared with $188.97 million (AED 694 million) in the same period of 2025.
The growth came despite a 39.8% decline in non-interest income, which fell to $32.68 million (AED 120 million) from $54.19 million (AED 199 million). The bank attributed the decrease primarily to market volatility affecting investment performance.
The contrasting movements in interest and non-interest income illustrate how lending became a more important contributor to the bank's earnings during the reporting period.
General and administrative expenses increased 12.8% to $65.62 million (AED 241 million), compared with $58.00 million (AED 213 million) a year earlier. Revenue growth outpaced the increase in expenses, allowing the bank's cost-to-income ratio to improve to 28.8% from 29.9%.
The lower ratio indicates that the bank spent a smaller proportion of its operating income on administrative costs, despite reporting higher expenses in absolute terms.
Bank of Sharjah's total assets increased 13.5% to $14.95 billion (AED 54.9 billion) at the end of September, compared with $13.18 billion (AED 48.4 billion) at the close of 2025.
Customer deposits rose 7.8% to $9.26 billion (AED 34 billion), up from $8.58 billion (AED 31.5 billion) at year-end.
Loan growth of 24% exceeded the 7.8% increase in customer deposits over the same nine-month period. The difference highlights the importance of monitoring funding and liquidity as the bank continues to grow its financing portfolio.
Investment securities declined 3.2% to $2.89 billion (AED 10.6 billion), compared with $2.97 billion (AED 10.9 billion) at the end of 2025.
Total equity increased 6.4% to $1.33 billion (AED 4.9 billion), supported primarily by accumulated profits. The bank's return on equity improved to 15.1%, compared with 13.4% in the first nine months of 2025.
Return on assets also increased to 1.4% from 1.2%, indicating stronger profitability relative to the bank's asset base.
Bank of Sharjah reported a capital adequacy ratio of 18.9% at the end of September, up from 16.9% at the end of December 2025.
Its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of a bank's highest-quality regulatory capital relative to risk-weighted assets, increased to 17.7% from 15.7%.
Both ratios improved by approximately two percentage points, strengthening the bank's reported capital position as its loan portfolio expanded.
The bank also reported a decline in its non-performing loan ratio, measured after expected credit losses and collateral, to 5.1% from 5.9% at the end of 2025.
The improvement indicates a reduction in the reported proportion of problem loans under that measure.
Stronger capital ratios and improving asset quality provide additional context for the bank's earnings growth, which was accompanied by expansion in its balance sheet rather than being driven solely by cost reductions.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Bank of Sharjah, said: “The first nine months of 2026 were characterised by a challenging global environment marked by geopolitical tensions, rising interest rate expectations, and persistent inflation. Against this backdrop, the (JAE economy demonstrated resilience, supported by its diversified economic base, prudent fiscal and monetary policies and solid financial system.”
In the bank's management discussion and analysis, Al Qasimi attributed the performance to the bank's business model, execution of its strategy and approach to governance and risk management.
He also expressed confidence in the UAE's economic outlook while identifying operational discipline, customer services and investment in internal capabilities among the bank's priorities for the final quarter of 2026.
Mohamed Khadiri, chief executive officer of Bank of Sharjah, stated: “We are delighted to report another round of strong results with net profit for the first nine months up 28.5% year-on-year, supported by solid business growth, diversified revenue generation and improved asset quality. These results reflect three years of consistent and rigorous execution of our transformation strategy.”
The CEO also identified digital capabilities, customer experience and operational efficiency as areas of continued investment.
Bank of Sharjah's third-quarter results provide a more recent indication of the earnings trend. Net profit for the July-to-September period increased 18.1% to approximately $53.37 million (AED 196 million), compared with $45.20 million (AED 166 million) in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Third-quarter net interest income increased 29.7% to $68.89 million (AED 253 million), while operating income rose 12.6% to $79.51 million (AED 292 million).
The quarterly figures show that earnings growth continued through September, although the pace of net profit growth was lower than the 28.5% increase recorded for the full nine-month period.
