BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) saw its net income grow by 17.5% year on year to P15.3 billion in the second quarter on the back of higher revenue growth, it said on Thursday.
This brought its first-half net profit to a record P30.6 billion, up by 21.5% from the year-ago level, “driven by robust revenues and sustained positive operating leverage,” BPI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Its financial statement was unavailable as of press time.
The bank’s first semester performance translated to a return on equity of 15.5% and a return on assets of 2%.
BPI’s revenues grew by 23% to P41.7 billion in the second quarter alone. In the first six months, revenues increased by 23.8% year on year to P81.2 billion on the back of higher net interest earnings.
The bank’s net interest income rose by 22.2% to P61.3 billion in the first semester as its average loans expanded by 18.4% and net interest margin widened by 23 basis points to 4.26%.
Meanwhile, its non-interest income grew by 28.7% to P19.9 billion in the same period amid a 28.8% rise in fee income to P17 billion and a 58.6% increase in foreign exchange gains to P2.2 billion.
“Strong fee income performance was led by higher service charges, bancassurance income, and credit card fees,” BPI said.
On the other hand, the bank’s operating expenses increased by 21.9% year on year to P38.3 billion in the first half due to higher spending on manpower, transaction processing costs, and technology.
This resulted in a cost-to-income ratio of 47.1% for the period.
BPI’s total loans expanded by 18% to P2 trillion at end-June as it booked growth across all sectors.
Personal loans surged by 128.7% in the period, while its business banking portfolio grew by 87.9%. Microfinance loans also expanded by 67.2% year on year.
The bank said it saw an “uptick” in its nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio to 2.2% as of June.
Its NPL coverage ratio stood at 127.6%, while provisions rose by 50% year on year to P3 billion in the first half.
On the funding side, total deposits rose by 14.4% to P2.5 trillion in the first semester, with its current account, savings account or CASA ratio at 64.7%.
The bank recorded a loan to-deposit ratio of 82.8% in the period.
BPI’s total assets grew by 15.8% to P3.1 trillion as of June, while total equity stood at P406.5 billion.
Its common equity Tier 1 ratio was at 14.2% in the period, while its capital adequacy ratio was at 15%, both above the regulatory requirements.
Amid its strong financial performance, the bank distributed cash dividends of P1.98 per share last month, up 17.9% from last year, it said.
“Earnings per share for the first semester stood at P5.80, up 14% from last year’s P5.09, notwithstanding the additional shares issued for the BPI and RBC (Robinsons Bank Corp.) merger,” it added.
The merger between BPI and RBC took effect on Jan. 1, with BPI as the surviving entity. BPI expects to fully integrate RBC’s systems into its own within the 12-18 months, officials earlier said.
BPI’s shares surged by P5.20 or 4.3% to end at P126 apiece on Thursday. — AMCS
