Lombard Bank this week announced a 3.5 per cent increase in profits over the previous year, reaching €11.61 million.

The bank announced a group profit before taxation of €12.93 million, which is 8.6 per cent lower than the record levels that were reached in the previous year.

The bank said that “this profitability level was achieved in spite of the adverse financial market conditions that continued throughout 2009”.

Bank chairman Christian Lemmerich noted, “Malta has weathered the global economic downturn reasonably well and the fundamentals in Malta seem to be somewhat healthier than elsewhere. However, it would be wrong to assume that the country has fully escaped the impact of the world recession.

“While we at Lombard Bank shall continue to exercise caution, we shall also assist our clients in economic conditions which are now more challenging. We believe that the bank’s expertise, local insight and sufficient knowledge of its customers mean the bank is well equipped to do so.”

During the meeting, the bank also proposed that the shareholders approve a final gross dividend of €0.10 per share to be paid to shareholders on the company’s register as at 22 March 2010. They also recommended that shareholders are given the option of receiving the dividend either in cash or by the issue of new shares at an attributed price of €3.04 per share.

Lombard Bank is the main shareholder of MaltaPost, an important contributor to group profitability. MaltaPost also produced a strong financial performance, increasing its profit before tax by 10 per cent to €3.19 million and this is reflected in the group results.