Thank you very much, Greg. I'm also joined by Johnson Kalo, our CFO, who will be available for questions later on in the call. In what was a dynamic global and local environment, Kina Bank delivered a strong FY '24 result, underpinned by strong revenue growth, which was partially offset by an increase in our cost-to-income ratio. Encouragingly, the factors driving revenue growth remain in place, and we've identified opportunities to improve our cost-to-income ratio. I'll now focus on several key areas that drove this result, and that also highlight our future potential. So underlying NPAT, which excludes the noncash charge for the decline in the carrying value of deferred tax assets, was up 7% to PGK 111.9 million.
This result was driven by revenue growth of 21%, which, as noted, was slightly diluted by an increase in our cost-to-income ratio to 58.6% from the prior year performance, which was 54.2%. Kina further diversified its revenue base during the year. Net interest income was up 9%, while noninterest income surged 33% and represented 55% of total revenues for the year. This diversification reduces our reliance on traditional lending while offering opportunities to grow our margins and return on capital. Our loan book grew 13% to PGK 2.9 billion, which reflects both growth in the market and an increase in Kina's market share.
Within the current market conditions, we believe this growth profile can continue. Loan book growth was achieved while also maintaining a prudent approach to risk management. Nonperforming loans were 8% and the provisions ratio was stable at 2.3%. In terms of digital momentum, we're continuing to make significant strides with our digital and channels operations, where revenues were up 27%. Kina has well-established strategic fintech partnerships to enhance our payments and lending capabilities. This focus on digital continues to be essential for future growth and for customer experience and ensuring we remain at the forefront of what is an increasingly competitive financial services landscape in PNG.
Cost management and business efficiency are key opportunities for improvement in 2025 and beyond. While our cost-to-income ratio improved to 53.3% in the second half, the full year outcome of 58.6% compared to the previously mentioned 54.2% in 2023 was a drag on our growth in 2024. Opportunities to improve this are being actively addressed through budgetary focus in 2025 and through business process efficiency and digitization through the medium to longer term. So we are committed to optimizing our cost structure and improving operational efficiency to support enhanced profitability. We have announced a full year dividend of AUD 0.010. ROE was 15.7%, and we maintained a strong capital adequacy of 18.4%, which is well within both the regulatory requirements and our Board's target range.
This certainly leaves us with capacity to continue our profitable growth. So turning to the outlook for 2025. We expect pretax earnings growth will be driven by solid loan book growth, ongoing expansion of our noninterest revenues, including digital, while at the same time, we will address opportunities to improve our cost efficiency. Post-tax earnings will also benefit from the decline in the tax rate for our banking operations from what was 45% in 2024 to 40% this year in 2025 and thereafter 35% in 2026.
So in summary, Kina delivered a solid result for FY '24, demonstrating growth across key metrics, and we still have the capability and the capacity to further grow our diversified top line while also improving our operating efficiency. We're very confident in our strategic direction and in our ability to capitalize on the opportunities in the PNG market. Thank you very much.
At this point, I'd like to also introduce Johnson Kalo, our CFO. Johnson and I are very happy to respond to any questions that you may have.
