Good morning. My name is Isikeli Taureka, and I am the chairman of Kina Securities Limited. I have the pleasure in welcoming you to Kina's 2024 Annual General Meeting. We have a quorum of shareholders, and I'm pleased to declare the meeting open. To encourage and facilitate broad participation for this meeting, the board decided to continue the online format, which we began in COVID. I'm very pleased, therefore, to welcome all shareholders participating online today through Kina's virtual meeting platform. Firstly, I would like to introduce to you my fellow directors: Karen Smith-Pomeroy, who is Chair of our Audit Committee and is a member of the Risk Committee and the Disclosure Committee. Dr. Jane Thomason, who is Chair of our Remuneration and Nomination Committee, and a member of the Strategy and Transformation Committee, and who also is standing for re-election today.
Andrew Carriline, who is a member of the audit committee, risk committee, remuneration and nomination committee, and the disclosure committee. Paul Hutchinson, who is chair of the risk committee and a member of the audit committee. And Richard Kimber, who is the chair of the Strategy and Transformation Committee, and who is also standing for re-election today. Also present and online is Greg Pawson, our Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson Kalo, our Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, and Mark Stretton, our auditor from Deloitte. Mark will be available to answer any questions you may have about the conduct of the audit. The agenda for today's meeting is set out on the slide. I will now provide a brief overview of the company's progress to date, before turning the meeting over to Greg Pawson to give us further updates on the company's operations and activities.
Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to once again report to you the performance of Kina Securities Limited for 2023. As you would all appreciate, we operate in a market that has its fair share of challenges that the board and management each year try to navigate. Challenges around law and order, security, unreliable public utility services, such as power, foreign exchange, and fiscal and regulatory policy unpredictability, are just some of the many challenges we face here in PNG. Nevertheless, we have time and again proven to work with those challenges to ensure that our business continues to grow from strength to strength and ensuring maximum return for our shareholders. In 2023, the company's net profit before tax was PGK 175.5 million, which represented an increase of almost 20%.
This increase was particularly due to a 20% growth in our loan book, an increase in fees and commissions, and a 200 basis points decline in cost of income of 54.1%. The company's underlying net profit after tax was virtually unchanged at PGK 105 million, mainly because the increased corporate tax rate from 30%- 45% consumed the increased net profit before tax. Our foreign exchange volumes were lower than expected, at PGK 51.3 million. While this result was below prior year levels, there was a noticeable lift in the final quarter of the year, as central bank foreign currency interventions aligned more with Kina Securities Limited's bank customer demand flows.
Kina Investment and Superannuation Services recorded an increase of 50% in net profit after tax, associated with an increase in total funds under administration to PGK 18 billion, and a 5% increase in total membership. There was an exceptional contribution from the lending business, generating organic loan growth of almost 20% to make loan interest to the highest value revenue portfolio of PGK 194 million, as well as the revenue item with the highest growth from the prior year of PGK 37.4 million. The regional bankers and business advisors have made a positive impact. Among our clients are 2,000 new business customers, 40 corporate and multinational accounts. Our loan recovery team also produced some significant wins during the year, helping to give us our best loan provision statistics to date.
Our well-established partnerships with Nambawan Super and National Superannuation Fund have continued successfully, and our funds under administration and funds under management are growing steadily, while our wealth management teams publish well-read bulletins and updates on the PNG economy. Pleasingly, our ROE for the year was 16.8% and ahead of plan, despite the dampening effect of the first year of the higher income tax rate. As you would be aware, the board declared a final dividend of 15.9 toea or AUD 0.06 per share, which brought the full-year dividend to 25.6 toea or AUD 0.10 per share. This demonstrates the board's commitment to ensure the owners of our business, our shareholders, receive strong returns when growth is achieved....
Ladies and gentlemen, Kina Securities continues to deliver strong results, and as we reach the halfway mark of our 2025 strategic plan, I must commend all our staff at Kina for their professional diligence, adaptability, passion, and for bringing to life Kina's vision of becoming the most dynamic, forward-thinking financial services company in the Pan Pacific region. My board is fully committed to ensure that as we approach the end of our first five-year strategy horizon, we are positioned to deliver on the next stage of our growth.
We will give Greg and his management the full support they require to undertake critical initiatives, such as auditing all our branch locations to ensure our service and product offerings are accessible and inclusive, revamping our key branches to provide a better experience for our customers, enhance technology, infrastructure, and digital capabilities, and expand our footprint beyond Papua New Guinea. I'm proud of what we have achieved so far, given the difficult economic conditions, and the board will continue to build on the growth in our core banking activities, and most importantly, strengthen our digital partnership model so that we continue to diversify our financial resources and revenues to ensure sustainable growth and returns. The board is committed to steering a prudent course for growth opportunities while safeguarding our strong balance sheet, underscoring the requirement that the growth agenda must be value accretive for all our stakeholders.
Ladies and gentlemen, our board is strong. We have a high caliber of-
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Position ourselves for sustainable growth. We will continue to work diligently to meet and exceed your expectations. Once again, thank you very much, and I will now ask Greg to give his thoughts on Kina Group's performance.
Many thanks, Chairman, and good morning, everyone. Thanks again, very much for joining us this morning. As alluded to by the Chairman, we had a solid growth in 2023 as a result of strong revenue, notably in business lending and also from digital revenues, which kept us well on track with our 2025 strategic plan objectives. Our regulatory capital closed the year at risk of loan 20%. Now, that's inside our target operating range and above the minimum requirement, supporting Kina's growth, growth focus. This was also aided by our ability to execute revenue diversification strategy, with close to 50% of our income now derived from non-interest products, which do not require much capital support.
The business has shown agility to adapt when necessary to deal with variability in conditions such as the foreign currency supply and consistency, low yields on domestic securities, and changes to our corporate tax rate. In that regard, consultations with the PNG government on the 15% increase in the corporate tax rate from 30%-45%, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, are still continuing for a repeal. A solid growth gives us the right, I should say, to continue to invest in the business, and we've been cautious to ensure that these investments are revenue accretive, and at the same time, enabling us to maintain a strong discipline around managing our cost base. We take a very much balanced approach to our investment profile.
Our aim is to diligently manage costs and adopt a measured approach to risk management while maintaining the growth aspirations that we have. We know achieving this balance will underpin our strategy and, in turn, the value we create for our stakeholders. Our market share improved by 4% in loans and 2% in deposits over the year, associated with a 19% growth in customer numbers. Now, this was a tremendous result for us, revealing that we're actually growing at a considerably faster rate than that of the economy or the system itself. Keeping true to our mantra, as the leading digital bank in PNG, our digital revenues grew by 44% year-on-year, and we're confident that this growth will continue in the coming years.
Our vision to be the most dynamic, progressive, and accessible financial services organization in PNG continued to be realized over 2023, and it was a milestone year for us in terms of new products and services that we released to the market. We launched our Pei Beta Bill payments platform, modeled on BPAY, that will allow customers of any bank to use. Opened the first, I should say, of several planned Kina Bank business centers. Established Kina Private, a new customer segment, deliberately targeting the retail wealth sector. And we opened the first of several new look digital hubs in Port Moresby, complemented by our Red Thunder team, a fleet of mobile banking teams that assist businesses and their employees on site to seamlessly onboard to Kina Bank.
2023 was also a record year for Kina in terms of customer growth and lending growth to the SME and commercial sectors. And while NCD was still a major contributor to this growth, our regional branches also shone.... A firm testament to our investment in the ability of experienced and qualified business bankers in our regional provincial locations to make quick and effective decisions. This is a business model we're very excited about, and we will continue to replicate across the country in conjunction with our partnership strategy for new locations with MiBank, the largest microfinance bank in PNG. Kina Bank, also through its strategic partnership with NiuPay and the Department of Land and Physical Planning, launched an eLands kiosk, an innovation that revolutionizes land management services for the public sector in PNG by integrating with Kina Bank's payment processing solution.
It's a product that we're very proud of, as it facilitates efficient and accountable service delivery and is a platform for further engagement with the public sector and the state-owned enterprises in the country. Perhaps, though, the most exciting feature of 2023 for us was the launch of DigiBanker, an online mobile app and website that allows new to Kina customers to onboard themselves anytime and anywhere. By using this app, the hassles of queuing or long waiting times can be avoided, and the customer can open and activate their own accounts. Through developments such as these, Kina is committed to bringing the best of international banking practices and technology to PNG.
Reflecting our growth and maturity as PNG's second-largest retail bank, we moved to strengthen our executive management team over the course of the year, appointing Roppe Uyassi as Chief Operating Officer, Philip Keller as our new Chief Risk Officer, Ann Steele as our new Executive General Manager for People and Culture, and Aman Shandil as our General Manager for Technology. We continue to be committed to increasing our reach within PNG and potentially outside of PNG, and our focus will be on continuing the development of our digital capability, driving growth in our core businesses of retail and business banking, and our market-leading wealth management platforms, Kina Investment and Superannuation Services and Kina Funds Management.
Our ambitious plans to expand business banking, further developing our ESG strategy with a specific focus on building our expertise in green financing and agribusiness, and our continued investment in digitalizing a number of our internal processes and creating a customer-obsessed workforce culture, will continue to define our success over 2024. While 2023 came with its fair share of challenges, thanks to the efforts of our Kina staff, the leadership shown by the management team, and certainly the counsel and support of the board, Kina has further strengthened its business through the many product services and initiatives that we have launched. I'm proud of our people, especially who continue to go above and beyond to deliver some of PNG's banking firsts. We remain PNG's leading digital bank by offering our customers simpler, accessible, and convenient ways of banking.
Thanks again very much for your support, and I'll now hand back to the chair.
Thank you, Greg. We will now move to the formal part of the meeting. The notice of meeting, dated 29 April, was released to the ASX and shareholders on 29th of April. It is available on the company's website, as well as the Download section of the virtual meeting platform. I will take the notice of the meeting as read. Before moving on to the various resolutions to be considered today, I will now briefly outline the meeting and voting procedures for today's meeting. As set out in the notice of meeting, all resolutions at the meeting today will be determined by a poll, which is now open. As shareholders, you can cast your vote using the electronic voting card that you received when you registered via the online virtual platform.
You may vote at any time from now until five minutes after the close of the meeting, as announced by me during the AGM. The results of the poll will be released on the ASX and will be available on the company's website as soon as possible after the meeting. As chair of the meeting, I will vote all directed proxies in accordance with the directions provided by shareholders. I'm also holding undirected proxies in my capacity as chair of this meeting, and I intend to vote all such proxies in favor of all resolutions, as indicated in the notice of meeting and proxy forms. Please ensure that you registered through the webcast as a shareholder and not as a guest, as only shareholders, their attorneys, proxies, authorized company representatives are entitled to ask questions.
If you wish to ask a question, please submit questions by selecting the Ask a Question tab located in the upper right corner of the screen. You can submit questions now or anytime prior to the vote on the relevant resolution, and they will be dealt with at the appropriate time. If you have a question already prepared, please submit it now so that as many questions as possible can be answered. Questions must relate to the relevant item of business. There will be an opportunity to ask general questions towards the end of the meeting. I ask that you keep your questions short and to the point so that as many shareholders as possible have the chance to ask a question. All questions will go through a moderator.
As chair, I will then read out the question, and I will either answer the question or pass it to the most appropriate person to answer. We reserve the right to rule out questions not related to the AGM or out of order. ... We will endeavor to answer all questions in the allotted time today. I'll put each resolution to the meeting in turn. The terms of each resolution will be displayed on the screen. Shareholders will then be given the opportunity to ask questions or make a comment in relation to that resolution. We will display the number of proxy votes received for the resolution, then the vote will be taken. I will also provide an opportunity for shareholders to ask general questions after all the resolutions have been considered.
More information regarding online participation at the AGM, including how to vote and ask questions online during the AGM, is available in the virtual meeting online guide. The virtual meeting online guide was released to the ASX. It is also available on the company's website or in download section of the virtual meeting platform. I will now move to the formal business of the meeting. This item of general business is to receive, consider, and accept the minutes of the previous annual general meeting, held on ninth of June, 2023, and signed by myself on 28 of August, 2023, as a correct record of the meeting, which the company secretary has now passed to me. Receipt and consideration of reports. Kina's 2023 annual report contains a financial report, directors' report, and the independent auditor's report, which I will refer to collectively as the reports.
A copy of Kina's 2023 annual report is available on the company's website, as well as the download section of the virtual meeting platform. The financial statements have been audited by Deloitte and approved by the directors. This item is a receipt and consideration of the reports of Kina. It is not a resolution that requires a vote. I will take the report as read and would like to take any general questions or comments about the reports or for the auditor. Are there any questions or discussions on Kina's reports or for the auditor?
No, nothing at this stage, Chair.
Thank you. Thank you, Company Secretary. We will now move to the resolution set out in the notice of meeting. Resolution one, re-election of Director Dr. Jane Thomason. The resolution is displayed on the slide. This resolution is an ordinary resolution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders present and entitled to vote on the resolution. The board, excluding Dr. Jane Thomason, unanimously recommended shareholders vote for this resolution. Are there any questions about the re-election of Dr. Jane Thomason as a director of the company?
No, Chair.
Thank you. It appears there are no further questions. The proxy results for resolution one are shown on the screen. If there is no further discussion, I now put this resolution to the meeting. On your electronic voting card, please now select for, against, or abstain next to resolution one. We now go to resolution two, re-election of Director Richard Kimber. The resolution is displayed on the slide. This resolution is an ordinary resolution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders present and entitled to vote on the resolution. The board, excluding Richard Kimber, unanimously recommend shareholders vote for this resolution. Are there any questions about the re-election of Richard Kimber as a director of the company? Thank you. It appears there are no further questions. The proxies received are shown on the screen.
If there is no further discussion, I now put this resolution to the meeting. On your electronic voting card, please now select for, against, or abstain next to resolution two. We now turn to resolution three, appointment of auditor. Resolution three relates to the appointment of Deloitte as the auditor of the company. This resolution is displayed on the slide. It is an ordinary resolution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders present and entitled to vote on the resolution. The board unanimously recommend shareholders vote for this resolution. Are there any questions about appointment of Deloitte as the auditor of the company?
None, Chair.
As there are no further questions, we will continue to get the the proxy results. The proxies are shown on the screen. If there is no further discussion, I now put this resolution to the meeting. On your electronic voting card, please select for, against, or abstain next to resolution three. We now turn to Resolution four, grant of rights to MD and CEO for 2023. Resolution four is the approval of the grant of performance rights to Mr. Pawson for financial year 2023. The resolution is displayed on the slide. This resolution is an ordinary resolution, which requires a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders present and entitled to vote on the resolution. The board, excluding Greg Pawson, unanimously recommend shareholders vote for this resolution.
I have to-
Okay. Are there any questions about the grant of performance rights to Mr. Pawson for financial year 2023?
No, chair.
As there are no further questions, the proxies are shown on the screen. If there is no further discussion, I now put this resolution to the meeting. On your electronic voting card, please now select for, against, or abstain next to resolution four. That concludes the formal part of the meeting. Please submit your votes now if you haven't already done so. The poll will close five minutes after the end of the meeting. As I mentioned earlier, the results of this meeting will be announced to ASX as soon as the votes have been counted and verified. I will now take general questions and invite questions generally about the company.
Chair, there are some general questions that I will now read out. One relates to whether the five main proxy advisors that cover ASX-listed companies cover our company. The answer to that is no, we are not covered by the proxy advisors. A further question related is that, has there been any material proxy protest votes against any items of business? The answer to that is no. Will you disclose the proxy votes before the debate on each resolution so shareholders can ask questions about the reasons if there have been any protest votes? Proxy votes will not be disclosed. The results of the voting will be disclosed post this meeting, and given the materiality of the protest votes, it won't be necessary to further disclose any details of the protest votes.
The second question relating to general business, is around the archived copy of the webcast, plus a full transcript of proceedings being made available on the company's website. Yes, it shall be. We do comply with all the regulatory requirements, and do make disclosure of remuneration in the annual report, as well, as of the proceedings of the AGM. There is a general question about the CEO's LPI grants, which has come in late. The details of the status of the CEO's remuneration, are all contained in the remuneration report, in the annual report, and this includes any, any trading of any equities in the company, which are governed, by the governance practices of the company, which require full disclosure on the ASX.
A final general question has also come in, which relates to the geographical spread of the residency of our directors, and the location of physical meetings. The directors reside in PNG and Australia, mainly, one in Dubai. Physical meetings are held in Australia and in PNG. In addition to that, meetings are all accessible virtually, on our virtual meeting platform as well. And all meetings are conducted in accordance with, Companies Act and regulations and ASX requirements. Those are all the questions, Chair.
Thank you, Johnson. Are there any more questions from shareholders out there? I see none. As such, once again, please ensure that you submit your votes online using the online voting card, if you have not done so already. If there are no further questions, that concludes the business of the meeting. I now declare the meeting closed, and thank you for attending and for your continued support of Kina Securities.