Copyright dailytimes
The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited, in their 212th meeting held in Karachi on 22 October 2025, approved the Bank’s condensed interim financial statements for the nine months ended 30 September 2025. The results demonstrate stable and persistent performance despite declining interest rates. The Bank posted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 9,604 million and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3,304 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2025, compared to Rs 9,734 million and Rs 4,766 million respectively in the corresponding period last year. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at Rs 2.9968 per share for the current reporting period, compared to Rs 4.3228 for the prior period. The decline was primarily due to additional taxation on banking companies introduced through the Income Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, which resulted in an effective tax rate of 65.60 percent (30 September 2024: 51.04 percent). The Bank’s net interest income improved to Rs 20,997 million from Rs 18,836 million in the prior period, reflecting growth of 11.47 percent, driven by improved business volumes. Non-interest income was recorded at Rs 6,518 million compared to Rs 5,225 million in the prior period, reflecting strong growth of 24.76 percent. The rise in non-markup income is mainly attributable to higher growth in fee and commission income and gain on securities, partially offset by decline in foreign exchange related income. Consequently, the Bank’s overall revenue increased by Rs 3,454 million, or 14.36 percent compared to the prior period. Non-markup expenses were recorded at Rs 17,833 million for the nine months ended 30 September 2025, against Rs 14,520 million in the prior period. Despite high inflationary pressures and ongoing branch expansion drive, expenses growth was contained at 22.82 percent owing to strict cost rationalization measures and prudent cost control policies. Maintaining our strategy of branch network expansion, the Bank is now operating with 618 branches (31 December 2024: 544 branches). Customer deposits grew by 15.83 percent over 31 December 2024, reaching at Rs 629,128 million as of 30 September 2025 compared to Rs 543,146 million in the prior period. The CASA mix ratio improved to 83.74 percent compared to 81.94 percent as at 31 December 2024. The cost of deposits declined notably to 7.17 percent during the nine months ended 30 September 2025, compared to 13.85 percent in the prior period. The Bank’s net advances portfolio stood at Rs 194,090 million as of 30 September 2025, compared to Rs 241,738 million in the corresponding period last year. Net investments rose by Rs 115,638 million or 30.09 percent from the previous year-end balance of Rs 384,306 million, closing at Rs 499,944 million as of 30 September 2025. The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total Advances increased to 4.30 percent as of 30 September 2025 (31 December 2024: 3.16 percent), with specific coverage at 84.54 percent (31 December 2024: 90.02 percent). Overall coverage, including the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) provision under stage 1 and 2 of IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, was recorded at 95.10 percent. The Bank remains adequately capitalized, with a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 16.29 percent at 30 September 2025. Soneri Bank remains committed to maximizing shareholder value through its customer-centric business strategy, focused on delivering tailored solutions to meet the evolving needs of customers across all business segments.
