Security Bank income hit P1.1B in Q1

Security Bank Corp. grew its first-quarter net profit by 8.2 percent to P1.1 billion on the back of a robust growth in core lending business.

This translated to a return on equity of 14 percent for the first quarter, the bank said in a statement on Friday.

The bank disclosed that net interest income for the quarter expanded by 22.3 percent to P2 billion from the same period last year, which it said was a reflection of the bank’s focus on “driving growth through its core businesses.”

The loan book surged by 20.2 percent to P98.6 billion in the first three months compared to the same period last year.

Security Bank president Alberto Villarosa said that after over 10 years of under-investment in the Philippine economy, a generally positive tone was becoming evident in terms of domestic market confidence and an increasing willingness among bank clients to make long-term investments.

“The expansion in our loan portfolio particularly in infrastructure, real estate, mining and energy has helped us achieve our targets for the first quarter of 2012 and remains to be the key factors in fueling what we optimistically anticipate to be a good year,” Villarosa said.