Metrobank nets P9.1B

METROPOLITAN Bank and Trust Co. grew its core net profit in the first semester by around 5 percent year-on-year to P9.1 billion as the bank unlocked higher interest earnings from fast-growing lending activities alongside better treasury gains.

“Overall, we are pleased with our earnings results. Despite the volatility in the global financial markets, local elections and heightened competition, we managed to accelerator our performance in our core business, particularly lending, low-cost deposit generation and fee income,” Metrobank president Fabian Dee said in a press statement.

“More importantly, our margins held steady in the face of the challenging environment,” Dee said.

Metrobank booked about P600 million in non-recurring gains in the first half of last year. Including the impact of such one-off items, the P9.1 billion core net profit in the first half of 2016 was lower than last year’s net profit of P9.29 billion.

But this year’s net profit of P9.1 billion for the first half, Metrobank senior vice president Jette Gamboa said was “all recurring, solid and core.”

In the first half of this year, Metrobank expanded its loan book by 24 percent year-on-year to P920.5 billion. This was faster than the 17 percent growth in lending posted by the local banking industry.

Metrobank’s lending growth was driven by a 27 percent rise in the commercial lending segment while the consumer segment also expanded by 17 percent.

Anthony Ocampo, head of Metrobank’s commercial lending, said the bank had helped fund a number of mergers and acquisitions involving local companies in the first half. At the same time, he noted that the bank had intensified efforts to bring in foreign direct investments (FDIs)- particularly from Japanese investors.

The commercial lending segment was also perked up by corporate capital spending and infrastructure-building, Ocampo said. Moving forward, he said funding requirements from the infrastructure and power industry would continue this strong momentum.

Metrobank’s net interest income in the first semester rose by 7.2 percent year-on-year to P25.6 billion, contributing to two-thirds of total operating income.

Gamboa noted that the bank’s net interest margin was steady at 3.5 percent.

On the funding side, low-cost deposits rose by 21 percent year-on-year in the first half, outpacing the 13 percent average industry expansion. These low-cost deposits now account for 61 percent of its P1.3 trillion deposit base.

Meanwhile, Metrobank booked P12.5 billion in non-interest income this year coming from stronger contributions in treasury-related services and fee income. The bank booked P3.6 billion in securities trading and foreign exchange trading gains, much better than the P1.9 billion windfall in the same period last year.

The bank also generated P5.2 billion in service charges, fees and bank commissions as well as P3.8 billion in miscellaneous income.

Metrobank ended June with consolidated assets of P1.7 trillion and equity of P198.2 billion. Total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) remained above the regulatory limit and highest among peers at 17.8 percent. Common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 14.6 percent.

Meaanwhile, Metrobank’s thrift bank arm Philippine Savings Bank grew its first semester net income by 2.2 percent year-on-year to P1.2 billion on the back of a double-digit growth in core businesses. This was supported by a 10-percent increase in core income, composed of revenues from consumer loans, investments and fee-based income. The thrift bank expanded its loan book by 13.2 percent year-on-year to P121.3 billion fuelled by auto and mortgage loans.