Daily Times April 20, 2021 Karachi: HBL today declared a consolidated profit before tax of Rs 14.5 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, more than double that for the same period last year. Profit after tax recorded a growth of 108% over Q1 2020 to Rs 8.6 billion. The Bank’s earnings per share increased from Rs 2.79 to Rs 5.68 in Q1 2021. Along with the results, the Bank declared a dividend of Rs 1.75 per share (17.5%). Helped by the strong profitability, the Bank’s Tier 1 CAR rose to 13.9%, with Total CAR increasing to 17.9%. The Bank’s total deposit base closed at Rs 2.8 trillion, with robust CA and CASA ratios of 35.1% and 83.1% respectively. Average domestic deposits increased by a multi-year high of nearly 20% over Q1 2020, with average current accounts rising by more than Rs 120 billion. This led to a nearly Rs 500 billion expansion in the Bank’s average balance sheet in Q1 2021. Consequently, despite a much lower interest rate environment, net interest income rose to Rs 32.5 billion, a 16% growth over Q1 2020.