COL profit jumps by 34.3%

LEADING online stock brokerage COL Financial saw a rebound in profit on the back of record-high revenue in the second quarter, reflecting the resurgence in investor interest in the stock market after the May 9 presidential elections.

In the second quarter, COL reported a 34.3-percent year-on-year jump in profit to P112.7 million.  This was driven by a 22.5-percent growth in second quarter revenue to a record high P229.4 million.

The growth was attributed to a significant increase in the value of transactions handled by COL and the continuous growth of its customer base.

“We are glad to see the continuous growth of our client base and their investments which is a clear testament to our success in educating and encouraging more Filipinos to save and invest,” COL president Dino Bate said.

In the first quarter, COL’s net profit fell by 36.4 percent year-on-year to P74.69 million.  The second quarter results brought the six-month bottom-line to around P187.39 million, around the same level seen in the same period last year.

COL reported that commission revenue rose by 50.6 percent to P175 million despite the 5.2-percent drop in value turnover of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The online stock brokerage said its commission revenue was buoyed by the expansion in customer base. COL ended June with more than 180,000 accounts, adding more than 19,000 accounts for the six-month period. Client equity handled by COL also rose to more than P58 billion as of  end-June from P48.6 billion as of end-2015.

COL said its market share in the PSE reached a new record high of 12.8 percent in terms of volume of local transactions and 6 percent in terms of value of total transactions.  Its ranking in terms of value traded likewise improved to number six from number eight previously.

For the second quarter alone, COL cornered 20.4 percent of total transactions in the market.Doris Dumlao-Abadilla