Philippine National Bank, led by tobacco and airline tycoon Lucio Tan, posted a consolidated net income of P4.8 billion in the first quarter, up 71 percent from a year ago on robust increases in interest margins, fee-based income and gains on disposal of foreclosed properties.
“PNB’s core earnings have been increasing…. We remain focused on improving efficiencies and in supporting our customers, their businesses and our stakeholders capture opportunities presented by the thriving economy,” bank president Florido Casuela said in a statement to the stock exchange Monday.
Income from core businesses continued to show progress as net interest income rose 23 percent year-on-year to P10.5 billion due to improvement in loan-to-deposit ratio to 70 percent from 65 percent and higher yield rates on earning assets amid the rising interest rate environment.
The bank had a better net interest margin of 4.22 percent in the first quarter, against 3.39 percent a year ago. Fee-based revenues also grew by 24 percent year-on-year to P1.6 billion on the back of increases in volume of credit and deposit-related transactions.
The bank continued its strategy to dispose and monetize the values of foreclosed properties, translating into net gains on sale and exchange of assets of P2.6 billion, which was 19 times higher than the gains recorded in the same quarter last year.
Despite the limited trading opportunities and market liquidity, PNB also managed to double its net trading and foreign exchange gains from last year to P387.6 million as it took advantage of the rate movements in the market during the period.
Operating expenses moderately increased by 12 percent year-on-year mainly due to the taxes related to the property sales.