February 15th, 2011
The Board of Directors of Meezan Bank Limited under the Chairmanship of H.E Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, in its meeting held on February 11, 2011 approved the annual audited accounts of the Bank for the year ended December 31, 2010. The Board also declared 15% bonus shares for its shareholders for 2010, thus raising the paid-up capital of the Bank to Rs.8 billion against the Rs.7 billion minimum capital requirement of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). By doing so, the Bank will now meet SBP’s mandatory minimum capital requirement one year ahead of schedule.
Meezan Bank recorded 61% growth in its after-tax profit for the year ended December 31, 2010. Profit after tax for 2010 was Rs. 1,650 million compared to Rs. 1,025 million in the previous year. Earnings per Share (EPS) for the year increased to Rs. 2.36 from Rs. 1.62 in the corresponding period last year.
The Chairman, who is also a minister in the state of Bahrain, said that the Bank showed excellent performance on several other business parameters also. Deposits grew by 31%, from Rs 100 billion in December 2009 to Rs 131 billion in December 2010. The growth in deposits is directly attributable to the aggressive branch expansion plan initiated since 2008 and an effective direct sales strategy. The Bank opened 21 new branches during 2010 and now operates with a network of 222 branches spread across 63 cities of Pakistan. Investments of the Bank increased by 139% from Rs. 23 billion in December 2009 to Rs. 55 billion in December 2010 – mainly due to investments in GoP Ijara Sukuk issued by the Government of Pakistan during the year.