United Bank posts 103% profit growth in 2025's second quarter

United Bank Ltd. (UBL) on Friday announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, reporting earnings per share of approximately PKR 11.43.

The bank’s board approved a dividend of PKR 8 per share, or 160%, for the period.

According to a filing with the Pakistan Stock Exchange, UBL’s net profit surged to PKR 28.62 billion, up 103% from PKR 15.27 billion in the same quarter last year.

Net interest income rose significantly to PKR 91.2 billion, compared with PKR 29.17 billion a year earlier. The increase was supported by a rise in current account deposits and higher yields on investments, particularly open market operation (OMO) borrowings, benefiting from a lower cost of funds and timely deployment.

Foreign exchange dealings contributed PKR 4.18 billion in earnings, up from PKR 3.76 billion in the prior-year period. Fee and commission income also showed strong growth, climbing 61 percent to PKR 8.98 billion.

Despite the strong topline growth, second-quarter results came in below industry expectations due to higher-than-anticipated non-interest expenses and a steep tax bill, according to a report by Topline Securities. The effective tax rate rose to 61% in Q2 2025, compared with 53% in Q1 2025.

Alongside the results, the bank announced a dividend of PKR 8 per share, in line with analyst expectations. This brings total dividends for the first half of 2025 to PKR 13.5 per share.