China Bank nets P5.63B

SY family-led China Banking Corp. earned P5.63 billion in net profit last year, up by 10 percent from the previous year, on the back of sustained growth in core business operations.

This translated to a return on equity of 9.69 percent and return on assets of 1.18 percent, the bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The bank’s net interest income grew by 7 percent to P15.08 billion, largely due to earnings from loans and receivables that expanded by 8 percent to P15.90 billion while interest expenses dropped by 2 percent to P4.24 billion. As a result, the bank improved its net interest margin to 3.37 percent from 3.3 percent.

China Bank grew its net loan book by 7 percent to P309.81 billion, driven by the strong growth of consumer and commercial loans, which were up by 24 percent and 11 percent, respectively. These segments had offset the flat growth in top-tier corporate loans.

On the other hand, non-interest income fell by 4 percent to P4.56 billion as trading gains and income from sale of investment properties declined by 9 percent to P486.92 million and by 27 percent to P258.71 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the bank grew earnings from service charges, fees, and commissions by 25 percent to P1.95 billion, backed by the bigger distribution network and contribution from the remittance and investment banking businesses.

Total operating income reached P19.64 billion, up 4 by percent.