The annual financial statements of Soneri Bank Limited for the year ended 31 December 2018 were approved by the shareholders of the Bank in its 27th AGM held in Lahore, on Thursday, 28 March 2019.The meeting of the shareholders was chaired by Alauddin Feerasta, Chairman of the Board, with Mohammad Aftab Manzoor, President and Chief Executive Officer and other members of the Board of Directors also in attendance.
The Bank declared after tax profit of Rs 1.78 billion for the year ended 31 December 2018. The shareholders also approved a cash dividend of Re 1.00 per share, as was recommended by the Board of Directors in their meeting held on 22 February 2019.
The Chairman briefed the shareholders regarding performance levels achieved during the year, growth in the terms of core revenues and various initiatives considered in 2018. It was highlighted that the Bank's Gross Advances portfolio grew by 12.77 percent over last year, while Investments indicated a growth of 26.85 percent over 2017. Deposits increased by 15.43 percent over 2017. As at 31 December 2018, the gross Advances to Deposits ratio (ADR) of the Bank stood at 74.26 percent.
While discussing the Bank's outlook and strategy, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Aftab Manzoor mentioned that the Bank has successfully issued additional Tier-1 Capital in the form of listed, perpetual, unsecured, subordinated, non-cumulative and contingent convertible debt instruments with an issue size of Rs 4 billion in 2018. The issue has supplemented the Bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio and contributes towards enhancing the lending capacity of the Bank.
He assured the Shareholders that the Board and the management are working together in order to deliver on the Bank's Strategic targets, so as to contribute positively towards economic growth, and to maximize returns to stakeholders.-PR