Karachi: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has released its financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2024, noting a decision against distributing any cash dividends, bonus issues, or right shares for this period.
In a board meeting held on October 29, 2024, NBP's directors finalized the quarterly financial statements, which highlighted a downturn in profit compared to the previous year. According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the bank faced various financial challenges, impacting its overall profitability despite a slight increase in net markup/return/interest income year-over-year.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, NBP reported a profit after taxation of PKR 728.69 million, down from PKR 608.13 million in 2023, marking a significant decline in net earnings. The bank's earnings per share also decreased to PKR 4.12 from PKR 5.70 in the previous year.
The bank's total income for the quarter increased marginally from PKR 248.95 billion in 2023 to PKR 271.05 billion in 2024, driven by slight gains in markup/return/interest earned which totaled PKR 833.66 billion for the nine months ending in September, compared to PKR 728.49 billion during the same period last year.
Non-markup/interest income also saw an increase, rising to PKR 53.09 million for the quarter from PKR 21.33 million in 2023. However, this was offset by rising operating expenses, which grew from PKR 65.23 million in 2023 to PKR 77.91 million in 2024, and higher credit loss allowances which also contributed to the lower net profits.
The consolidated financial results for the National Bank of Pakistan similarly reflected a downturn, with profits after taxation for the quarter reported at PKR 729.02 million, down from PKR 608.09 million the previous year. The consolidated earnings per share also decreased to PKR 1.39 from PKR 5.78 in 2023.
NBP's management has indicated no immediate plans for dividend distributions or capital increases, signaling a cautious approach moving forward amid uncertain economic conditions.