China Bank H1 net profit up 39%

Sy family-led China Bank grew its second quarter net profit by 23 percent year-on-year to about P3.68 billion on the back of an expansion in net interest earnings and a decline in credit loss provisioning expense.

For the six-month period, China Bank’s net profit climbed by 39 percent to P7.3 billion. This translated to an improved return on equity of 13.4 percent and better return on assets of 1.4 percent.

The second quarter results marked a 3-percent sequential increase from the P3.57-billion net profit in the first quarter despite the reimposition of tough lockdown measures in early April.

Three-month net interest income grew by 13 percent year-on-year to P9.38 billion, which made up for the decline in fee-based revenues.

Provision for impairment losses eased by 28 percent year-on-year to P3.15 billion. For the whole of the first semester, however, the bank built up more loan loss provisions, recognizing P5.4 billion in pandemic-related credit buffers, up 13 percent year-on-year.

“The strong execution of our strategies enabled us to rally through the challenges. We are continuously adapting and improving our services and operations to support our customers and the overall economy, and to remain well-positioned for sustainable future growth,” China Bank president William Whang disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

For the six-month period, net revenues rose by 18 percent year-on-year to P24.8 billion, reflecting strong growth in net interest income and fee-based income.