The annual financial statements of Soneri Bank Limited for the year ended 31 December 2019 were approved by the bank’s shareholders in its 28th AGM held simultaneously via videolink in Lahore and Karachi on Thursday.
The meeting of the shareholders was chaired by Board Chairman Alauddin Feerasta with President and Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Aftab Manzoor also in attendance.
The bank posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs3,247 million and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs1,906 million for 2019, as compared to Rs2,905 million and Rs1,784 million in 2018, increasing by 11.78pc and 6.86pc, respectively.
The bank’s earnings per share for the year was reported at Rs1.7289. During the meeting, the shareholders approved the final cash dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 at 10pc i.e. Re1.00 per share, as recommended earlier by the Board of Directors.
Briefing the shareholders on the financial results, the CEO mentioned that the bank’s Net Interest Income (NII) improved by 14pc YoY, primarily due to improved volumes as well as spreads. He mentioned that core fee and commission earnings, dividend income and foreign exchange income all indicated positive growth, improving by 9.89pc, 28.30pc and 15.46pc, respectively, while the negative impact on overall Non-Interest Income was mainly due to the impact of losses incurred on the capital markets portfolio due to adverse market conditions that prevailed over a substantial part of the year.
