LAHORE: MCB Bank earned a pre-tax profit of Rs8.35 billion in the first quarter (January-March) of the current calendar year, said an announcement on Wednesday.

It said the operational profitability showed an improvement as net interest margin increased by three per cent from a year earlier.

MCB Bank focused on improving its non-interest income proportion and grew by registered a growth of 17 per cent. The administrative expense base (excluding pension fund reversal) recorded an increase of around 12pc. “A substantial reversal of Rs583 million in the provision charge is reflective of the prudent and aggressive provision strategy adopted by the bank and rigorous efforts put in by the recovery units.”

The bank’s total asset base was reported at an all-time high of Rs827.25bn. Net investments rose by Rs13.14bn to Rs462.15bn, and gross advances at Rs272.46bn.

The non-performing loan base of the bank reported a significant contraction of Rs753m with major recoveries in the ‘loss’ categorised loans.

Earnings per share (EPS) came to Rs4.95 whereas return on assets at 2.68pc. Return on equity came to 22.44pc with book value per share improving to Rs89.15 as compared to Rs87.39 for Dec 31, 2013. The bank also declared a cash dividend of Rs3 per share for the quarter.