Islami Bank reschedules AGM after High Court approval

Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, one of the country's largest private lenders, has rescheduled its 42nd annual general meeting (AGM) after obtaining approval from the High Court.

According to a disclosure to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) today (9 December), the AGM will now be held at 10am on 11 December at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka Cantonment. The bank said it received the court's permission on 7 December, allowing the board to finalise the new date.

The AGM was originally set for 19 November but was postponed due to what the bank described as "unavoidable circumstances". The bank has already announced that it will not declare any dividend for 2024, pending shareholder approval.

Islami Bank reported a consolidated net profit of Tk108 crore for 2024, an 83% year-on-year decline, citing higher deposit costs and increased provisioning against bad investments. Bangladesh Bank has also instructed the bank to approve its audited financial statements while maintaining a provision shortfall of Tk69,770 crore against classified investments.

Once the country's most profitable lender, the bank showed signs of stabilisation in the third quarter of 2025. It posted a consolidated net profit of Tk32.37 crore between July and September, a sharp turnaround from a Tk89.21 crore loss in the same period a year earlier. Consolidated earnings per share rose to 20 paisa, reflecting improved operations and better management of investment income and provisions.

Despite the third-quarter recovery, performance over the first nine months of 2025 remains weak. Consolidated net profit fell 62.7% to Tk99.77 crore, with earnings per share dropping to Tk0.62. Standalone profit also declined by 67.7% to Tk78.77 crore, largely due to higher operating costs and slower investment growth in the first half of the year.

Islami Bank's shares closed 1.39% higher at Tk36.60 today.

DSE data shows the bank has 160.99 crore shares in total. Of these, 131.89 crore, or 81.92% of the total, are owned by S Alam Group and have been blocked under a Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) order issued on 24 August.

The BSEC acted following a request from Bangladesh Bank, which sought the freezing of shares held by six individuals, including S Alam Group Chairman Saiful Alam Masud, and 56 affiliated institutions. With the block in place, only 18.40 crore shares, or 11.43% of total shares, remain available for trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.