KARACHI, July 25: Pakistan Premier Fund Limited (PPFL) managed by Arif Habib Investments, declared final cash dividend at Rs2.50 per share i.e. 25pc for the year ended June 30, 2006. This is in addition to interim dividend already paid at Rs1.50 per share i.e. 15pc.

A press release issued by the company on Tuesday stated that PPFL’s profit after tax was Rs546.56 million while its net assets improved by 16.74pc to Rs2.58 billion. For the year, total income was composed of Rs417.45 million from capital gains, Rs74.86 million from dividend income and Rs78.41 million from unrealised appreciation in the value of the portfolio.

On NAV basis PPFL delivered a total return of 26.04pc for year 2005-06 as compared to the market return (KSE 100) 34.08pc during the same period. The press release stated that PPFL has a “5 star” rating from Pacra. The annual general meeting of the company would be held on September 9, 2006.