LAHORE, 11 February 2016: The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited met in Lahore under the Chairmanship of Mr. Alauddin Feerasta, on 11 February 2016 to review the performance of the Bank and approved the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2015. The Bank has posted a profit after tax of Rs. 2.21 billion which is 39.87 percent higher than last year. This translates into earnings per share of Rs. 2.01 (31 December 2014: Rs.1.44). Profit before tax stands at Rs. 3.59 billion being 47.25 percent higher than last year. The Board of Directors has also announced cash dividend for the year ended 31 December 2015 @ 12.5% i.e. Rs. 1.25 per share. The Bank has outperformed the market in deposit growth and also shown reinforcement in all core areas of the Bank’s operations. Deposits grew by 13.46% over 2014 and net advances recorded a growth of 3.74% over 2014. Bank also adequately meets the SBP Basel III requirements and is well positioned to meet its growth plans. Analyzing the reasons for successful performance in 2015, Bank sources explain that the increase in gross revenue was registered mainly on account of growth in earning assets, which increased bank net markup income. Furthermore, bank delivered well on its strategy to mobilize low cost deposits and invest in high yielding bonds. This provided the offset against pressure on spreads due to low rates. The Bank continues to follow a prudent policy for making provisions for the infected loan portfolio in line with regulatory requirements and is confident that actions taken in 2015 would further help in controlling future infections and securing upcoming recoveries. During the year, the Bank issued Listed Term Finance Certificates (TFC – 2) worth Rs.3.00 billion. The issue was successfully closed and was oversubscribed by Rs.810 million (1.3 times). Issue was structured as Pre-IPO subscription of Rs.2.25 billion and IPO of Rs.0.75 billion Soneri Bank has a unique market position in trade-finance and transactions banking services and boasts a loyal and satisfied client-base in all its 266 branches all over the country. -PR
