Asia United Bank (AUB) and its subsidiaries achieved a record-high consolidated net income of P8.6 billion in the first nine months of 2024, driven by increased revenues and reduced loan loss provisions.
This amount was up 41 percent from the same period last year and surpassed its full-year net income of P8.3 billion in 2023, AUB said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
This resulted in a return on equity of 22.4 percent and a return on assets of 3.4 percent, both up from last year’s 19.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
“We expect our performance to remain robust, especially as we start reaping the full benefits of the government’s National ID system, with AUB being the first Philippine bank to integrate the Philippine Statistics Authority’s eVerify. This will hasten our account opening process and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, reduce paperwork, improve loan application and approval processes, and enhance security for financial transactions,” said AUB president Manuel Gomez.
Net interest margin increased by 11 percent to P12.5 billion, thanks to higher interest income from loans and investments. The net interest margin ratio rose to 5.3 percent from 4.9 percent last year.
Non-interest income also grew on better foreign exchange gains, recovery income and fees from various services like credit cards, AUB PayMate, remittances, trust services and branch-related transactions.
Operating expenses improved 6 percent to P5 billion, mainly due to higher staff pay and investments in new business growth. Credit and impairment losses fell 93 percent from P1.1 billion a year ago, reflecting improved credit quality.
The bank’s nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio eased to 0.53 percent from 0.70 percent last year, and its NPL coverage ratio increased to 120.7 percent from 107.0 percent.
Total assets amounted to P352 billion, up 2 percent from last year. The total loan portfolio grew 6 percent to P198.9 billion from P188.2 billion, supported by deposits of P282.0 billion, resulting in a loan-to-deposit ratio of 70.5 percent.
Low-cost CASA deposits made up 70 percent of total deposits, up from 66 percent last year. Total equity increased by 25 percent to P56.6 billion, driven by retained earnings.
The bank said its common equity tier 1 ratio of 19.6 percent and capital adequacy ratio of 20.4 percent are both above regulatory requirements.
