Al Salam Bank raises profit 20.4% to $185.8 million in 9 months
Key Facts
Net profit attributable to Al Salam Bank’s owners rose 20.4% to $185.8 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, from $154.3 million in the corresponding period of 2025, according to a bank statement published by Zawya on November 10. The bank said growth in income from core banking activities and regional operations supported an increase in net financing income, fees and commissions, and its share of profits from associates. Sukuk income rose 19.1% to $232.3 million, while net fee and commission income increased 16.6% to $63.2 million. In the third quarter alone, profit attributable to owners reached $63.1 million, up 14.2% from $55.2 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The chairman said the record nine-month performance strengthens the bank’s position, noting the group’s focus on deploying capital where it generates greater value and maintaining sustainable returns for shareholders.
Comprehensive income did not follow the same trend as profit: total comprehensive income attributable to owners fell 34% to $171.8 million in the first nine months of 2026, compared with $260.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The bank attributed the decline mainly to fair-value changes in its sukuk portfolio. The divergence between rising net profit and falling comprehensive income highlights the effect of valuation changes on the overall result during the period. In another sign of improved profitability, earnings per share reached 19.7 fils in the nine months, compared with 16.2 fils a year earlier. The figures come as the bank noted that net profit for the nine-month period increased in each of the past six years.
On its financial position, assets stood at $21.47 billion on September 30, up 0.5% from the end of 2025, while financing assets reached $10.65 billion and customer deposits totaled $14.58 billion. The fixed-income portfolio grew 8.4% to $5.56 billion since the start of the year. Equity attributable to the bank’s owners expanded 5.9% to $1.30 billion on September 30, from $1.23 billion at the end of 2025. The consolidated capital adequacy ratio was 24.9% at the end of the third quarter. These indicators provide a picture of financing, deposits and capital alongside the profit trend, without asset growth alone implying a comparable expansion in financing and investment activities.
On regional operations and asset management, the group said it participated in 7 debt-market deals in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with total issuances of $6.3 billion. ASB Capital also announced the launch of 3 new funds: a liquidity fund, a multi-asset fund and a private financing fund in collaboration with StepStone. The chief executive said the group’s priorities include improving the balance sheet and expanding revenue sources across banking, asset management, takaful and regional exposures. He added that execution and capital allocation efficiency remain central to these priorities. The plans link revenue diversification with the distribution of the group’s activities across more than one area and market.
The bank said nine-month net profit increased more than 8 times compared with the same period in 2020, when it stood at $21.4 million, recording a compound annual growth rate of 43.4% over that period. It said the condensed interim financial information for the nine months, reviewed by external auditor KPMG, is available on the Bahrain Bourse and Dubai Financial Market websites. The review and publication are the next announced step in disclosing the period’s results. The nine-month performance combines higher net profit and earnings per share with lower comprehensive income linked to fair-value changes in sukuk. The results also showed limited growth in assets compared with the end of 2025, alongside figures for financing, deposits and capital.