METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) booked a higher net profit in the third quarter that brought its nine-month income to a record for the period as its growing consumer business supported its loan growth.
The bank’s attributable net income rose by 2.56% year on year to P12.43 billion in the three months ended September from P12.12 billion, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday.
This brought its earnings for the first nine months to P37.28 billion, up 4.34% from P35.73 billion, which it said was an all-time high for the period and attributed to “solid loan growth, improving margin trend, healthy trading income alongside well-managed cost growth.”
This translated to a return on equity of 12.53% versus 12.93% a year prior, and a return on assets of 1.39% from 1.48% last year.
“Our prudent approach in expanding our core businesses continued to support our performance in the first nine months. We’re confident that the Philippines’ long-term growth story remains strong,” Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee said.
“We continue to be committed in helping our clients seize opportunities for growth as we navigate together any challenges and uncertainties on our journey ahead.”
Net interest income climbed by 14.52% to P31.78 billion from P27.75 billion in the third quarter as its interest earnings from both loans and receivables and trading and investment securities increased, while its interest expense on deposits declined due to the lower volume of time deposits.
For the first nine months, its net interest income grew by 7.11% to P91.81 billion as it saw growth across its business segments.
The bank said its gross loans grew by 10.8% year on year to P1.9 trillion at end-September, with its consumer loans rising by 15.8% and institutional loans increasing by 9.5%. Its nonperforming loan ratio went up to 1.67% from 1.59% a year ago.
Its provisions stood at P8.7 billion year to date for a “hefty” NPL cover of 147.4%.
Metrobank’s net interest margin on average earning assets was at 3.7% in the period, down from 3.9% a year prior.
Meanwhile, non-interest income dropped by 35.41% year on year to P7.79 billion in the third quarter from P12.06 billion, mainly due to a decline in its net trading, securities and foreign exchange gain that was partially offset by its higher fee-based and miscellaneous income.
Still, for the first nine months, its other operating income went up by 5.36% to P25.38 billion from P24.09 billion.
Metrobank’s operating expenses declined by 5.78% to P19.41 billion in the third quarter from P20.6 billion.
In the nine-month period, expenses edged up by 1.7% to P57.96 billion from P56.99 billion.
Its cost-to-income ratio declined to 49.8% from 52.2%.
On the funding side, the bank’s deposits grew by 7.6% year on year to P2.5 trillion at end-September, with P1.5 trillion of the total being low-cost current and savings accounts or CASA deposits.
Its loan-to-deposit ratio was at 76.61%, up from 74.4% a year prior.
Metrobank’s assets expanded by 8.9% year on year to P3.63 trillion at end-September, while total equity climbed by 7.2% to P407.6 billion.
Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) was at 16.99%, slipping from 17.1% a year prior. Its common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio also edged down to 16.26% from 16.3%. Despite this, both were well above the minimum regulatory requirements of a 10% CAR and a 6% CET1 ratio.
As of Sept. 30, the Metrobank Group had 965 branches, 1,305 on-site automated teller machines (ATMs), and 946 off-site ATMs.
Metrobank shares climbed by 25 centavos or 0.38% to close at P66.50 apiece on Tuesday. — Bettina V. Roc
