State-run Land Bank of the Philippines, the fourth-largest lender in terms of assets, said Wednesday net income jumped 52 percent in the first quarter to P4.26 billion from P2.81 billion a year ago on sustained strength of core businesses.
The bank said in a statement the first-quarter profit also exceeded the target of P3.78 billion for the period by 13 percent.
“This quarter’s performance assures us that we are gaining the momentum to meet our targets this year. The 31-percent growth in our loan portfolio is also a strong indicator of our fervent drive to reach more agribusiness borrowers, especially in the countryside,” LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura said.
“The bank’s solid financial performance is our source of financial muscle to attain our bigger mission of promoting inclusive growth,” he said.
The first-quarter net profit was brought about by a 47-percent surge in gross revenues to P17.4 billion from P11.8 billion a year earlier.
The bank attributed a big chunk of the increase in net income to higher interest income on loans which grew 25 percent. Outstanding loans grew 31 percent to P694.71 billion from P529.16 billion.
The bank said its return on equity and net interest margin reached 15.74 percent and 3.33 percent, respectively, which were above the latest industry average figures.
Assets rose 19 percent to P1.63 trillion in the first quarter from P1.38 trillion in the same period last year. Deposits expanded 19 percent to P1.44 trillion from P1.22 trillion.
LandBank said total capital went up 22 percent to P108.37 billion from P88.63 billion as of end-March 2017.
Buenaventura said the bank remained aggressive in strengthening lending programs and tailoring new programs to the needs of clients, especially the priority sectors.
LandBank said it remained the biggest lender to the agricultural sector, especially small farmers, fishers, microenterprises and SMEs.