KARACHI, Feb 28: Allied Bank’s profits grew by 42 per cent for the year 2006 and the bank announced a cash dividend of 25 per cent with 20 per cent bonus share, says a press release.

The board of directors of ABL approved the accounts for the year 2006 in its meeting held on February 26 in Lahore.

The bank has posted profit-after-tax of Rs4.4 billion, an increase of 42 per cent compared to 2005, resulting in equity growth of 22 per cent to Rs17.7 billion.

Operating profit was Rs7.6 billion, reflecting a growth of 37 per cent over last year. Earning per share improved to Rs9.80 from Rs6.88 earlier.

The bank’s deposits grew by 28 per cent to Rs206 billion, while loans increased to Rs152bn registering a growth of 27 per cent.

The NPLs portfolio significantly decreased by 17.5pc, while net NPLs to net loans improved to 1.95pc from 3.6pc last year. Return on assets improved to 1.98pc while return on equity increased to 30pc and income-to-expense ratio improved to 41pc from 43.5pc.