FMIC posts 28.8% rise in net income

First Metro Investment Corp., the investment house of the Metrobank group, grew its consolidated net profit last year by 28.8 percent to P2.2 billion on higher treasury and investment banking revenues.

This translated to a return on equity of 20.56 percent, FMIC said in a statement.

“We expect another good year in 2012 as many converging positive factors are imminent—GDP [gross domestic product] is expected to grow by 6 percent, OFW [overseas Filipino worker] remittances to increase by 7 percent, inflation will recede to 3 percent from 3.5 percent, exports to recover from a 4.3-percent drop to a 5.7-percent growth, interest rates to further compress by 50 basis points, while short-term rates will correct and the PSEi will reach more than 5,000 level,” First Metro president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said.

In 2011, FMIC’s treasury group contributed P1.2 billion to total income, which was 34 percent higher than the previous year’s level. Net interest income from its treasury portfolio was reported at P434 million. Gains from government securities trading amounted to P615 million while fee income from securities distribution stood at P116 million.

The investment banking group reported a fee-based income of P275 million, up 2 percent from a year ago. This was generated from various fund-raising deals that included Beacon Electric Assets Holdings Inc.’s P11-billion corporate notes sale, PureGold Price Club’s P8.6-billion initial public offering, Manila Water Co.’s P10-billion corporate notes sales and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.’s P10-billion stock rights offering.

“We have once again demonstrated our dominance in the domestic debt capital market in 2011. With our in-depth understanding of the Philippine capital markets and extensive distribution capabilities, we have successfully participated in 83.4 percent of the total peso-denominated domestic capital market issuances amounting to P771.2 billion, including the P687.5-billion fund raising activities for the Republic of the Philippines,” Dispo said.

FMIC’s strategic finance division earned a net interest income of P159 million in 2011 while the investment advisory group contributed P38 million in trading gains and dividends from investment in stocks.—Doris C. Dumlao