AUB first-half profit jumps 37% to P817M

Asia United Bank, the Rebisco group’s banking arm, posted a 37.3-percent year-on-year growth in its first-semester net profit to P817.1 million on higher trading gains and net interest income.

During the first six months of the year, AUB’s interest income from loans and treasury assets rose by 25.9 percent year-on-year to P1.6 billion, the bank reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

On core lending activities, the newly listed bank expanded its loan book by 11.3 percent to P35.9 billion from year-ago level.

Net interest margin rose by 32 percent to P1.2 billion as AUB booked more commercial loans to top-tier corporations and medium-scale enterprises. The bank recently started growing its consumer loan portfolio that included auto, housing and salary loans.

Total resources grew by 25 percent year-on-year to P80.3 billion from year-ago level.

“We remain true to our promise: AUB will become one of the top 10 banking industry players in the country,” bank president Abraham Co said in a statement.

AUB, which went public last May, aims to double its branch network by 2015. It is scheduled to open more in key cities, including in Visayas and Mindanao, to meet its target of 150 branches by the end of 2013 from the current network of 126 branches.

The bank said it had started reaping the gains from its branch expansion and more intensified deposit generation campaigns as total deposits jumped 11.9 percent to P54.8 billion year-on-year.

In addition to physical presence and alternative channels such as online banking, AUB also launched last year its mobile banking application which allowed users to view the image of issued checks and download monthly bank statements. The mobile app also enables users to locate and call the nearest AUB branches with just a click of the branch locator icon.

AUB, which raised P8 billion from its initial public offering, plans to invest in new acquisitions, additional bank branch licenses in restricted areas, branch network expansion and information technology infrastructure.