KARACHI – The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited, in its 211th meeting held in Karachi recently, approved the bank’s condensed interim financial statements for the half year ended 30June 2025.
The results reflect consistent and sustained performance despite declining spreads. The bank posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs6,685 million and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs2,497 million for the half year ended 30June 2025, compared to Rs6,519 million and Rs3,216 million respectively in the corresponding period last year. Earnings per share(EPS) stood at Rs2.2648 per share for the current reporting period, compared to Rs2.9171 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 62.65 percent (30 June 2024: 50.67 percent).
The bank’s net interest income improved to Rs14,259 million from Rs11,934 million in the corresponding period last year, reflecting strong growth of 19.5 percent, driven by improved business volumes. Non-interest income was recorded at Rs. 3,556 million compared to Rs. 3,606 million in the prior period, showing a marginal decline of 1.4 percent, mainly due to reduced FX related income. However, this was offset by higher digital banking income and trade related commissions, supported by improved trade business volumes. Consequently, the overall revenue of the bank increased by Rs2,275 million, or 14.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
Non-markup expenses were reported at Rs11,280 million for the current half year, against Rs9,343 million for the comparative prior period. Despite high inflationary pressures and ongoing branch expansion drive, expenses growth was contained at 20.73 percent owing to strict cost rationalization measures and prudent cost control policies. Continuing its strategic footprint expansion, the bank is now operating with a network of 572 branches (31 December 2024: 544 branches).
Customer deposits grew by16.6 percent over 31 December 2024, reaching Rs633,379 million as of 30th June, 2025. The CASA mix ratio improved to 85.45 percent compared to 81.94 percent as at 31 December 2024.The cost of deposits declined notably to 7.43 percent during the half year ended 30 June 2025, compared to 14.32 percent in the corresponding period.
The bank’s net advances portfolio stood at Rs191,887 million as of 30th June, compared to Rs241,738 million in the corresponding period last year. Net investments rose by Rs111,994 million or 29.14 percent from the year-end balance of Rs384,306 million, closing at Rs496,300 million as of 30th June, 2025.
The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to total advances increased to 3.96 percent as of 30th June 2025 (31 December 2024: 3.16 percent), with specific coverage at 87.44 percent (31 December 2024: 90.02 percent). Overall coverage, including the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) provision under IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, was recorded at 99.6 percent.
The bank remains adequately capitalized, with a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 16.37 percent at 30th June, 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.
