Philippine National Bank, the fifth-largest lender in terms of assets and controlled by airline and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, said net income in the first half fell 28 percent to P3.9 billion from P5.4 billion year-on-year.
The bank said in a statement Friday net profit in the first six months was lower than a year ago because of a “one-time gain” from the sale of foreclosed assets in 2018.
Total consolidated assets, however, jumped 24 percent to P1.09 trillion as of end-June 2019, or an increase of P211 billion over a year ago.
“We are heartened by the bank’s positive financial results in the first six months of this year. Excluding the impact of non-recurring earnings from the sale of foreclosed assets, the bank’s core net income grew by 45 percent,” said PNB president and chief executive Wick Veloso.
“The growth came from the sustained momentum of the core lending, investment and deposit-taking activities as the Philippine economy continued its growth trajectory,” he said.
He said PNB’s growth was a clear indication that the various strategic initiatives it had put in place earlier were gaining traction in the fast-moving economy.
“We have the momentum and are excited to unlock the significant revenue contribution of the forthcoming integration of PNB Savings Bank into PNB,” he said.
Loans and receivables, supported by the double-digit growth in loans to commercial and small and medium enterprise segments, increased 13 percent to P594.1 billion, better than the June 2018 balances. PNB’s stable retail banking franchise catapulted its deposit liabilities to a 15-percent growth to P775.1 billion.
Veloso noted the strong improvements in core revenues comprising of net interest income and net service fees and commissions. Net interest income, which account for 77 percent of total operating income, reached P14.7 billion, up 13 percent due to the expansion in interest-earning assets.
Net service fees and commissions, meanwhile, expanded 11 percent resulting from intensified efforts on cross-selling deposits and credit cards to customers. The bank also benefited from the substantial improvements in trading gains, which reached P968 million from the previous year’s P98 million.
