(3 August 2016 – Philippines) China Banking Corp. reported a 30 percent growth in its first half net profit to P3.27 billion (A$91 million) as higher treasury gains complemented strong growth in core and fee-based businesses.
This translated to a return on equity (ROE) of 10.74 percent and a return on assets (ROA) of 1.22 percent, China Bank disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange this week.
“We are encouraged by the strong positive results in the first semester despite the challenging market conditions,” China Bank president and CEO Ricardo Chua said.
Net revenue before operating expenses grew by 15 percent to P10.85 billion, with net interest revenue up by 7 percent to P7.95 billion. The bank expanded its loan book by 12 percent year-on-year to P324.03 billion.
Non-interest revenue rose by 42 percent to P2.9 billion, supported by higher trading gains which reached P993.52 million during the semester from P345.91 million last year. There was also a 16-percent increase in service charges, fees, and commissions.
The bank’s total operating expenses rose by 11 percent to P6.66 billion as the bank continued its network expansion and embarked on new product initiatives.
Total assets increased by 16 percent year-on-year to P555.55 billion, driven by loans and deposit growth. The 12-percent loan growth was underpinned by a 24 percent increase of consumer loans.
On the funding side, total deposits grew by 16 percent year-on-year to P462.62 billion, with low cost deposits rising by 18 percent to P239.04 billion. Of total deposits, 51.67 percent consisted of low cost deposits, compared to 50.66 percent in 2015.
China Bank’s total capital funds rose by more than six percent to P62.47 billion. Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and total CAR ended the half-year at 12.28 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively.