BPI’s Q3 profit up 28%

MANILA, Philippines–Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands grew its third-quarter net profit by 28 percent year on year to P4.77 billion, tracking an industry-wide improvement in treasury earnings after a sluggish first semester.

This brought the bank’s nine-month net profit to P12.8 billion, down by 19 percent from year ago when extraordinary gains from securities trading boosted most banks’ profits to record-high levels.

The nine-month profit represented about 63.6 percent of the bank’s full-year net profit guidance of P20.21 billion. It translated to a 13.4-percent return on equity and 1.4 percent return on assets.

On a year-to-date basis, net interest income grew by 15 percent which was attributed to the bank’s strong loan growth and improving deposit mix.

BPI said it continued to post solid growth in its core lending business. Net loan booked hit P702 billion, up by 28 percent from year-ago level.

Non-interest income amounted to P14.8 billion for the year, down by 17 percent from year-ago level. Income in relation to securities and foreign exchange trading was P2.1 billion, down from P5.8 billion a year ago.

Non-interest income excluding securities and foreign exchange trading was P12.7 billion, up 7 percent year-ago level.

As of the end of the quarter, deposits amounted to P1.044 trillion, up 17 percent from year-ago level. Low-cost deposits accounted for 76.5 percent of the total, rising from 68.9 percent a year ago and 72.7 percent a quarter ago.

In the meantime, operating expenses grew by 13 percent due to the bank’s investment in technology and its manpower expansion.

As of the third quarter, BPI had 14,336 staff, expanding by 12 percent over the same period last year. The bank spent 53 centavos to earn every peso.