Meezan Bank Limited has earned pre-tax profit of Rs 780 million registering a growth of 23.2 percent in the year 2006. The bank's financial result was announced in the 11th Annual General Meeting, which was held at a hotel in Karachi, on Thursday. Irfan Siddiqui, the President and Chief Executive of the bank chaired the meeting.

Irfan Siddiqui, while welcoming the shareholder said by the Grace of Allah, each year brings new benchmarks to celebrate the successes and achievements of Meezan Bank. From being a small niche player operating with only 6 branches and Rs 5.1 billion in deposits at the end of 2002, the Bank now has 62 branches and a deposit base of Rs 34.4 billion. This translates to a CAGR of 18 percent (Branch growth) and 62 percent (Deposit growth) respectively, as against the overall industry growth of around 20 percent during this period. The bank opened 34 new branches during the year and its deposit base increased by 51 percent during the year. This growth now establishes Meezan Bank as one of the medium sized banks operating in Pakistan.

The after tax profit has increased to Rs 604 million in 2006 from Rs 4l9 million in 2005 reflecting an increase cr44 percent. Earning per share for the year is Rs 1.88 as compared to Rs 1.46 in 2005, despite increase in the share capital of the bank by 85 percent from Rs 2,037 million to Rs 3,780 million through a combination of 50 percent Right issue and 26 percent Bonus shares.-PR
Finance Dr Salman Shah and senior officials of the HSBC.