Sharjah Islamic Bank said on Sunday it earned a net profit of 231.6 million UAE dirhams ($63.05 million) in 2008, a decrease of 23 percent compared to the previous year.

The bank did not state why profits fell.

The Islamic lender posted a net profit of 301.8 million dirhams in 2007, according to its statement on the Abu Dhabi bourse website.

Earnings per share dropped to 0.18 dirhams in 2008 versus 0.23 dirhams the previous year.

Total assets of the bank grew to 15.53 billion dirhams last year versus 10.88 billion dirhams in 2007. - Reuters