LAHORE: The National Bank of Pakistan has announced to achieve an exponential 51 per cent growth in pre-tax profit as it increased to Rs 33.2 billion in 2015 from Rs 22 billion of year 2014. This is a complete turnaround from year 2013; and is higher by 368% from 2013.
The results were announced during the bank’s 67th annual general meeting, which was attended by Chairman Muneer Kamal and President Syed Iqbal Ashraf and the shareholders.
The increase in profit before tax is mainly derived through 17% growth in core net interest/ mark-up income, and 15% growth in non interest / mark-up income. To mitigate the impact of the policy rate cut, the Bank managed its earning assets portfolio-mix in an optimum manner.
It was presented to the shareholders that the improved results were achieved through effective execution of strategies which encompass improving deposits mix for higher net interest income, portfolio optimisation and re-profiling, cost controls, business automation and expansion in branch network.
The bank also focused on recoveries against non-performing loans. The Board of Directors in its meeting held on February 19, 2016, had proposed a final cash dividend of Rs 7.50 per share (75%) for the year ended December 31, 2015.
This translates into 92% dividend payout of the bank’s distributable profit for the year 2015 (after statutory reserve allocation) and is among the highest in the banking industry.
Higher dividend payout reflects bank’s strong capital position with continuous focus on increasing stakeholder value by capitalising on opportunities to drive strong performance for the organisation and even higher payouts to the shareholders in the years ahead.
