PNB net profit grows 30%; resources breach P1 trillion

Philippine National Bank (PNB) — INQUIRER.net photo

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank grew its net profit by 30 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and breached the P1-trillion milestone in total resources.

Consolidated net income in the first three months amounted to P1.9 billion compared to P1.5 billion reported in the same quarter in 2018, driven by higher interest earnings and treasury gains, PNB disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Total resources reached P1.03 trillion at the end of March, up by P176 billion or 21 percent compared to the year-ago level.

The bank continued to ride on the growth trajectory of the Philippine economy, PNB president and chief executive officer Wick Veloso said. “We see a lot of activity in many of our branches nationwide. Robust corporate and consumer business is expanding and asset quality remains to be strong,” he said.

“The growth of the economy continues to be solid and PNB is well positioned in key growth areas around the archipelago to capture more opportunities,” Veloso said, as he pointed to business activities around ongoing infrastructure driving the economy.  “We are committed to doing things in a more efficient way as we push safe aggressive growth,” he said.

The growth in operating income was driven primarily by improvements in net interest income and trading and foreign exchange gains. The bank’s net interest income increased by 11 percent year-on-year to P7.1 billion in the first quarter on the back of expansion in loans to customers as well as trading and investment securities.

The bank grew its loan book by 17 percent to P588.9 billion while trading and investment securities increased by 62 percent year-on-year to P188.4 billion.

Trading and foreign exchange gains surged to P856 million from only P45 million a year ago.

Net service fees and commission income was up by 14 percent year-on-year to P967 million, due to improvements in credit-card-related and deposit-related fees.

On the funding side, deposit liabilities increased by 13 percent year-on-year to P744.8 billion

Operating expenses, excluding provisions for impairment and credit losses, grew by 13 percent over the same period last year, as robust revenue growth translated to higher business taxes and other business-related expenses.

As of end-March, PNB’s total equity increased by P12 billion, to P133 billion, from last year’s levels. Common equity tier 1 ratio was 13.2 percent and capital adequacy ratio stood at 14 percent, well above minimum requirements. /cbb