14/05/2026 04:01 AST
Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has reported improved net profit attributable to equity holders for the first quarter of the year.
Ithmaar Bank's net profit attributable to equity holders for the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 was BD1.42 million, a 6.4 percent increase compared to the net profit of BD1.34 million reported for the same period in 2025.
Total net profit for the three-month period was BD3.72 million, largely in line with BD3.77 million net profit reported for the same period in 2025.
"On behalf of the Ithmaar Bank Board of Directors, I am pleased to report that the Bank continues to report improved profits despite the challenging market environment and the recent developments in the region," said Ithmaar Bank Chairman Prince Amr Al Faisal.
"This is also due to the bank continuous efforts and focus to achieve further growth in its core Islamic banking business in Bahrain and Pakistan and further enhancing the value of its strategic investments," he said.
Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer, Maysan Al Maskati, said the results reflect the bank's disciplined execution of its funding and balance sheet strategy, enabling it to deliver improved profitability for shareholders. He noted that continued focus on optimising the funding mix and controlling funding costs has strengthened earnings resilience in a challenging market environment.
"Our prudent management of funding costs-evidenced by an 8.2 percent reduction in profits paid to quasi-equity holders-has helped the Bank navigate the challenging market environment characterised by lower benchmark rates, limiting the decrease in total income to just 1.1 percent," said Al Maskati. "Despite lower operating income resulting from reduced benchmark rates in our overseas operations, we delivered improved profitability for our shareholders through disciplined balance sheet and funding management. The Bank continues to maintain sufficient liquid assets of BD238.89 million, which have remained largely unchanged from 31 December 2025 levels," he said.
"Our approach to balance sheet and funding management is also reflected in our efforts to reduce high-cost deposits and funding in favour of low-cost deposits, said Al Maskati. "This has resulted in quasi-equity balances declining by BD221 million, from BD1.32 billion as at 31 December 2025 to BD1.10 billion as at 31 March 2026. This was partly offset by an increase in current account balances, which rose by BD93 million to BD1.02 billion, compared to BD0.93 billion at year-end 2025," he said.
"As a testimony to the bank's growth journey, total equity attributable to shareholders of the Bank increased to BD56.36 million as at 31 March 2026, a 2.6 percent increase from BD54.94 million as at 31 December 2025, which demonstrates that the Bank is on the right trajectory," he said.
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