MANILA, Philippines -- Financial services group ATR KimEng Financial Corp. boosted its first-semester consolidated net profit by 52.2 percent to P144 million on robust insurance, trading and interest earnings.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, ATRKE Financial reported that its consolidated revenues of P1.3 billion exceeded P1.1 billion in total expenses in the first six months of the year.

"We continue to experience growth across our businesses in the balance of the first half," said ATRKE Financial president Manuel Tordesillas. He cited, in particular, the company's revenues from insurance premiums, commissions, and interest income that sustained their general upward trend from previous quarters.

Insurance subsidiaries AsianLife Financial Assurance Corporation and AsianLife & General Assurance Corporation contributed bulk of the revenues, with combined premium and interest income hitting P798.5 million, up by 18.1 percent over last year.

ATR KimEng Securities Corporation (ATRKE Securities), meanwhile, led the group's capital markets business with commissions increasing by 15.8 percent year-on-year to P235.2 million as local equity trading continued its upbeat performance in the first half.