MCB Bank's profit before tax crosses rs 40 billion, impressive growth of 25pc yoy.

The Board of Directors of MCB Bank Limited met under the Chairmanship of Mian Mohammad Mansha on February 04, 2020, to review the performance of the Bank and approved the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Board of Directors has declared 4th cash dividend of Rs. 5 per share i.e. 50% bringing the total cash dividend for the year ended 2019 to 170%, continuing with its highest dividend payout trend in commercial banks category.

MCB's profit before tax grew to Rs. 40.10 billion which reflects a tremendous growth of 25% over 2018, despite the tough operating environment. The key highlights were impressive increase in net interest margins through gradual shift in the maturity profiling of investment base along with a more refined structure.

The strategic profiling of the investments based on the interest rate calls resulted in a gradual shift from shorter to longer term investments, thereby capitalizing on the significant interest rate movement during the year. Net interest income rose to Rs. 59.62 billion, 30% higher than the last year on account of effective asset deployment of the low cost deposits. Analysis of the interest earning assets highlights that income on advances increased by Rs. 20.37 billion, primarily on account of increase in yield of 398bps. On the investment side, gross markup income increased by Rs. 30.76 billion, due to increased average volume by Rs. 66.61 billion and yield of 391bps. On the interest bearing liabilities side, the cost of deposits increased by 278bps over last year.

The non-markup income block of the Bank was reported at Rs. 16.68 billion with major contributions coming in from fee commission and foreign exchange income. One of the major revenue line supplementing the fee growth was commission from Bancassurance, with MCB Bank Limited leading the new business generation in percentage terms.

Despite the inflationary surge during the year, growth in the operational network and constant investment in digital, cyber security and information technology related platforms, the operating expense growth was contained to an impressive 5%, as efficient cost management remains one of the...