In its meeting held in Lahore recently under the chairmanship of Raja Muhammad Abbas, Chief Secretary, Government of Sindh, the Board of Directors of Sindh Bank Limited noted that with a network of 40 branches, the bank was able to post profit after tax of Rs 183.67 million, up by 17%, in 3QCY11 as against Rs 156.65 million recorded in the last quarter reflecting continuing growth momentum despite sluggishness being faced by the economy.

The year to date pre-tax profit stood at Rs 886.32 million and net profit of Rs 592.24 million translating into an overall EPS of PKR 0.59, and PKR 0.18 for the quarter ended September 30,2011.

President and CEO of the bank, Muhammad Bilal Shaikh told the members that 30 branches had been added to "our network since the last quarter and now the bank has a countrywide presence with branches in Lahore, AJK, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta". "The bank is on track to achieve its target of 50 branches before the end of October this year," he added.
Giving details of the bank's financials, the president told the members that since its incorporation in Pakistan on 29th October 2010 as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance 1984, the bank has managed to increase its balance sheet size by 16% from Rs 37 billion to Rs 43 billion as of September 30, 2011 while its total revenue for the period under report stood at Rs 1,162 million representing an increase of 33% over the previous quarter, which indicates that the pace set previously has been improved upon.
On the Corporate Banking (CB) side also, the president said the bank has continued to flourish with the CB portfolio now above Rs 4 billion mark. "This is an increase of over 23% as against CB portfolio standing on June 30, 2011," he said adding, "the portfolio has been structured around quality clients with premium profiles."

SOURCE: BUSINESS RECORDER