The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited, in their 202nd meeting held in Lahore Wednesday, approved the Bank’s financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The Bank posted impressive growth in earnings with Profit before Tax (PBT) reported at Rs. 12,357millionfor the year ended 31December 2023 as against Rs. 4,554 million earned during previous year; which signifies an impressive 171.35 percent year on year growth. Profit after Tax (PAT) for the current year also surged to Rs. 6,075 million as against Rs. 1,883 million in the last year, translating to a growth of 222.61 percent year on year. Accordingly, the Bank’s EPS was reported at Rs. 5.5108 per share for the current year, as compared to Rs. 1.7082earned in the previous year.
With the Bank’s EPS at historic high levels; The Board of Directors has recommended cash dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023@ 30.00 percent i.e. Rs. 3.00per share (2022: @ 10.00 percent i.e. Rs. 1.00 per share), subject to shareholders’ approval in the forthcoming AGM.
Fund based income continued to improve at the back of improved spreads and robust asset and liability management keeping in view the interest rate regime, and the Bank’s Net Interest Income (NII) grew by 102 percent to Rs. 22,759 million for the current year, as against Rs. 11,267 million reported last year. Non markup income (NMI) also registered a healthy growth of 25.23percent YoY, with NMI reported at Rs. 6,459million for the current year as against Rs. 5,157 million for last year, with core fee income reflecting an improvement of 26.97percent year on year.
Non-markup expenses were reported at Rs. 15,471 million for the current year as against Rs. 12,245 million reported for the previous year. Despite unprecedented inflation levels, growth in expenses was kept restricted at 26.35 percent as compared to the previous year; as a result of strict cost rationalization measures and prudent cost control policies and discipline.
