Sharjah Islamic Bank said first-quarter profit surged 55 percent after the sharia-compliant lender generated more income from lending and affiliates.

Net income in the three months to March 31, after distributing profit to depositors, rose to 79.4 million dirhams ($21.62 million), or 0.07 dirhams per share, compared with 51.1 million dirhams, or 0.05 riyals per share, the bank said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi bourse website.

Income from murabaha and leasing jumped almost 39 percent to 138.96 million dirhams, and from affiliates 47 percent to 38.99 million dirhams, the bank said. - Reuters