COL profit soared by 50% in H1

The country’s leading online stock brokerage, COL Financial Group, Inc., grew its net profit in the first six months by 50.1 percent year-on-year to P322.2 million, driven by growth across various segments.

For the first time in its 19-year history, COL ended the first half as the number one stockbroker in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Its average daily turnover hit P1.2 billion in the first six months, marking a 22.5-percent increase that boosted its market share to 8.1 percent from 6 percent a year ago.

COL’s revenue was up by 33.7 percent year-on-year, given a 25.5-percent rise in commissions as retail volume grew despite the challenging market conditions.

Clients across all segments added to their accounts, nearly doubling net new flows from Philippine operations to P4.7 billion. Total client equity from Philippine operations as of end-June reached P70.5 billion, an increase of 3.2 percent, despite the 15.3-percent decline of the main local stock barometer in the same period.

“We’re pleased to see that our clients continue to add to their portfolios to build wealth over the long term, notwithstanding the current market environment,” COL president Conrado Bate said in a disclosure.

The rising interest rate environment also boosted COL’s interest income, which rose 66.9 percent year-on-year as the company said it remained proactive in the cash management of its investible funds.

Fees from COL’s mutual fund distribution jumped 52.2 percent year-on-year to P7 million, while the average value of assets under administration likewise grew as the group actively pitched index fund investing as an easy and convenient way for investors to participate in the market’s growth.

Operating profits grew at a faster pace versus revenue, rising by 49.5 percent year-on-year to P416.7 million driven by a margin improvement of 71 basis points to 67.7 percent as the share of the self-directed client segment continued to grow.

From previous share of 69 percent of trading revenue in the first half of 2017, this higher-margin client segment now accounted for 82.8 percent of trading revenue in the first half of 2018.

Total expenses for the period rose by 9.5 percent year-on-year, reflecting increased manpower and office space expansion to support a growing customer base and to fuel future growth.

As COL stepped up its efforts to bring its educational seminars closer to key cities across the country, its client base grew from 225,000 as of end-June 2017 to over 273,000 by the end of June 2018.

Also, more COL clients now own mutual funds. Data showed 12 percent of its client base owned mutual funds, up from 9.9 percent of client base last year.