KARACHI, May 1: Meezan Bank, one of the Islamic banks of Pakistan, has posted 31 per cent growth in its post-tax profit for the first quarter ended on March 31, 2008.

According to press release issued here on Thursday, the post-tax profit increased to Rs251 million compared to Rs191 million in the corresponding period last year.

Income from core banking business has increased by 48 per cent, maintaining the healthy trend of decreasing dependency to volatile non-banking income. Earning per share (eps) for the first quarter was Rs0.55 as compared to Rs0.42 in corresponding period last year.

The performance of Meezan Bank during the period has been very good with significant growth in all areas of its business activities especially deposits, that grew by 45 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Despite the fast growth, the cautious and prudent financing policies have enabled the bank to maintain excellent asset quality across all business segments including the consumer financing business.

This significant growth is mainly attributable to aggressive branch expansion plan and effective direct sales strategies.

The bank presently has 101 branches in 31 cities across Pakistan.—PPI