KARACHI: Askari Bank Limited (PSX: AKBL) reported a sharp 91.37% year-on-year surge in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, with earnings rising to Rs7.16 billion from Rs3.74bn in the same period last year. The strong performance was driven primarily by a steep expansion in net interest margins and a substantial decline in provisioning expenses, even as non-mark-up income remained subdued.
The bank’s net mark-up income jumped by nearly 70% year-on-year to Rs21.92bn, as the cost of funds declined faster than the drop in interest earned. While mark-up income fell 24.44% to Rs75.94bn, mark-up expenses shrank by a steeper 38.33% to Rs54.01bn, significantly widening the spread.
Total non-mark-up income registered a marginal decline of 3.66% year-on-year to Rs3.71bn. Gains on securities more than tripled, increasing by 203% to Rs828.68m, while other income rose by 53%. However, a 51% drop in foreign exchange income and a mild dip in fee and commission income dragged the non-interest income line down overall.
Despite a 23% rise in operating costs to Rs9.94bn and total non-mark-up expenses increasing to Rs10.1bn, profit before provisions and tax still rose by a strong 81.5% to Rs15.53bn. A significant 78.21% drop in credit loss allowances — falling to Rs256m from over Rs1.17bn last year — provided a further boost to pre-tax profit, which more than doubled to Rs15.27bn.
Tax expenses also more than doubled to Rs8.12bn, in line with the higher earnings, but the bank still posted a post-tax profit of Rs7.16bn attributable to equity holders. This translated to earnings per share of Rs4.94, compared to Rs2.58 in the same quarter last year.
On the Pakistan Stock Exchange, AKBL’s share price rose 1.3% in intraday trading, closing at Rs30.12, as investors responded positively to the bank’s improved efficiency and margin resilience, along with the general market sentiment.
