MANILA, Philippines–China Banking Corp. of the Sy family chalked up a net profit of P5.11 billion in 2014, matching the previous year’s level, as growth in core businesses made up for the decline in trading gains.
This translated to a return on equity of 9.9 percent and return on assets of 1.12 percent, the bank reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange Tuesday.
Net interest income grew by 42 percent to P14.09 billion, largely due to earnings from loans and receivables. Despite the slight increase in interest expenses, net interest margin improved to 3.3 percent from 2.98 percent.
On the other hand, total non-interest income declined by 8 percent to P4.76 billion. Excluding trading gains, which were extraordinarily high for the whole industry in the comparative year 2013, non-interest income rose by 30 percent to P4.22 billion.
Total operating income reached P18.85 billion, up by 25 percent. The inclusion of Planters Bank in the bank-wide consolidation contributed P1.45 billion to total net interest income and P397.07 million to total non-interest income, accounting for 49 percent of the total net revenue growth of the Bank.
The bank said that, with the acquisition of Plantersbank and the heavy investments in technology upgrades, new branches and ATMs (automated teller machines), and additional manpower in China Bank and China Bank Savings, consolidated operating expenses (excluding provision for losses) grew by 32 percent to P11.73 billion. But on its own, China Bank’s operating expense increased by only 8 percent.
Total assets expanded by 14 percent to P470.94 billion, driven by strong loans and deposit growth.