Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third largest bank in terms of assets, said Thursday net income rose 7.6 percent in the first quarter to P6.72 billion from P6.25 billion a year ago on the strength of its core businesses.
BPI said in a statement the first-quarter profit also increased 10.8 percent from the fourth quarter. Comprehensive income reached P8.51 billion.
Total revenues climbed 23.5 percent in January to March to P22.78 billion, driven by the 28.8-percent year-on-year growth in net interest income to P16.05 billion.
The increase in net interest income was a result of an 8.8-percent growth in average asset base and a 50-basis-point expansion in net interest margin to 3.39 percent, it said.
“Yield on interest-earning assets improved by 109 basis points, partially offset by the increase in the cost of funds, owing to higher time deposit rates and an increase in other borrowings,” it said.
Total loans reached P1.35 trillion as of March 31, 2019, reflecting a growth of 11.5 percent year-on-year, boosted by the strong growth in corporate loans, credit card loans and housing loans at 11.8 percent, 20.3 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively.
Total deposits rose 1.3 percent to P1.61 trillion as of end-March. The bank’s casa (current account, savings account) ratio stood at 70.3 percent while the loan-to-deposit ratio was at 83.9 percent.
Non-interest income grew 12.4 percent to P6.73 billion, led by increases in transaction-based service charges, credit card and rental businesses and income from assets sold.
Operating expenses totaled P12.07 billion in the first quarter, up 23.8 percent year-on-year across all major categories and primarily in technology and premises, reflecting the impact of the bank’s continued investments in technology, digitalization and microfinance branch network.
The cost-to-income ratio was 53 percent, slightly up from 52.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Provision for losses of P1.80 billion was 13.2 percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2018.
Non-performing loan ratio settled at 1.85 percent. Total loss coverage, including allowances for contingent exposures, stood at 95.7 percent.
BPI said total assets reached P2.08 trillion, up 8.9 percent while return on assets was 1.34 percent. Total capital amounted to P257.11 billion, up 35.6 percent on account of the stock rights offering in May 2018.
