Lombard Bank Malta has registered a record pre-tax profit of Lm3.6 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2005, up 44.2 per cent when compared to the Lm2.5 million of the previous year.

During the annual general meeting at the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, in Valletta, yesterday, Lombard Bank shareholders approved the directors' recommendation to declare a dividend of 20c per share, representing a gross payment of Lm841,072.

The meeting also approved an extraordinary resolution to set the nominal value of the ordinary shares at 25c each, so that the authorised share capital of the bank of Lm5 million is now made up of 20 million ordinary shares of 25c each and the number of shares making up the issued and fully paid up share capital amounts to 8,410,720 ordinary shares.

Lombard Bank chairman Christian Lemmerich said the remarkable profit was achieved during a period characterised by low interest rates and cautious business sentiment.

"It would not be prudent to expect the remarkable rates of growth of the past years to continue unabated in the future. However, the financial position of the bank has strengthened significantly in the past years and the board of directors is confident that the bank's balance sheet will continue to secure the development of the business," Mr Lemmerich said.