Jordan Islamic Bank, a subsidiary of the Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), achieved a net profit of $39.49 million in the financial year 2009.

The bank's net profit before tax was $55.01 million.

The bank's board of directors approved the financial statements and recommended referring them to the ordinary general meeting planned for April 27, together with the recommendation to pay cash dividend of 12 per cent of the bank's capital.

The bank's joint investment profits before distribution were about $140.76 million. The general rate of profit on Jordanian dinar accounts amounted to 5.69 per cent and 1.25 per cent on foreign currencies, which is one of the highest rates of return paid to depositors.

Total assets at the end of last year amounted to about $3.079 billion, compared to $2.606 billion in the previous year, an increase of about $472.5 million or 18.1 per cent.

The overall footing of the bank's balance sheet was about $3.484 billion, compared to $3.061 billion, a growth of 13.9 per cent.

Finance and investments increased by $214.53 million to reach about $1.846 billion, compared to $1.632 billion at the end of 2008, a growth of 13.1 per cent.

Customer deposits together with managed accounts amounted to about $3.1 billion compared to about $2.68 billion at the end of 2008, reflecting a growth of 16.2 per cent.

Total customer deposits at the end amounted to about $2.72 billion, compared to $2.24 billion for the same period of 2008, an increase of $478.14 million or 21.3 per cent.

The bank has also strengthened its capital base by increasing its capital last year to $141.04 million, following which shareholders equity stood at about $249.37 million, compared to about $227.08 million at the end of 2008, an increase of 10 per cent.

The rate of return on average equity before tax amounted to about 23.04 per cent and about 16.51 per cent after tax, while return on paid-up capital (earning per share) amounted to $0.4.

The capital adequacy ratio at stood at about 14.47 per cent, calculated in accordance with the measurement criteria of the Central Bank of Jordan, and about 33 per cent according to the standards of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

ABG president and chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif praised the results of the bank, as it continued its outstanding achievements despite the global financial crisis.

As for the future, Yousif said that Jordan Islamic Bank would continue to maintain its rate of growth and seek to deliver balanced returns for its shareholders, depositors and employees and that it would work towards increasing its market share through offering a full range of competitive products and expanding its branch network.

Vice-chairman of the board and bank's general manager Musa Abdul Aziz Shihadeh said the results achieved by Jordan Islamic Bank were a clear indication of the success of Islamic banking and its ability to withstand all challenges and difficulties.

Shihadeh expressed pride in the results, which he said confirmed the soundness of the bank's approach in implementing Islamic banking policies and solutions in keeping pace with the rapid developments taking place in the Islamic banking industry during the last 30 years.

The many banking awards won by the bank and good credit ratings received from an international rating agency were a proof of the success of this approach, stressing that the bank would continue to exert more efforts to strengthen the confidence of our customers and shareholders in the bank and achieve the best results in line with the bank's strategy and mission which conform to the principles of Sharia.-TradeArabia News Service