Habib Metropolitan Bank reports Rs 5bn profit in 2012

Staff Reporter

Habib Metropolitan Bank, the 7th largest bank of Pakistan in terms of shareholder equity, Wednesday reported over Rs 5 billion before tax profit in 2012 against the before-tax Rs 4.6 billion earnings at the end of 2011.

This amplification of profitability was supplemented with a growth of 4.4 per cent in the bank’s total assets, which stood at Rs 301 billion on December 31, 2012, and a noteworthy increase of 17.50 per cent in the bank’s deposit base. Meanwhile, CASA deposits demonstrated a significant growth of 20.60 per cent against the previous year, as the CASA mix of the bank amounted to an increased 53.80 per cent.

Net markup income of Habib Metro Bank increased by 7.90 per cent and stood at Rs 8.30 billion, while non-markup income registered an increase of 5.20 percent, standing at Rs 5.40 billion at the end of the financial year 2012 an enhancement that is primarily attributed to the 18 per cent growth in fee-based income and 12.18 per cent growth in trading and dividend income.

The bank’s Board

of Directors recommended a final cash dividend of Rs 2 per share or 20 percent for the year ended December 31, 2012, against the 15 percent cash dividend announced in the previous year. Commenting on the bank’s financial performance in the year 2012, President and CEO, Sirajuddin Aziz said that HabibMetro performed well despite the challenging economic environment of the country. Going forward, the bank will endeavor to further develop its product suite by adding attractive features to its product offerings during 2013. Through this commitment to improvement, we aim to better our customers’ banking experience with HabibMetro.”

Other initiatives and occasions of note with respect to the bank include the launch of a reinvigorated brand identity earlier in the year, with the user-friendly nomenclature ‘HabibMetro’ accentuating the Group’s heritage. This was followed by the completion and celebration of 20 years of service by the bank, on October 21, 2012. 20 new branches spanning 7cities were added to the branch network during the year, enhancing the bank’s branch outreach to 183 branches across 28 cities Pakistan-wide.