CitisecOnline profit jumps 26% on Hong Kong trades

MANILA, Philippines - Listed online stock brokerage house CitisecOnline (COL) reported a 26 percent jump in its first quarter net earnings this year to P44 million, mainly driven by its trading operations in Hong Kong.

In a statement, COL president Conrado Bate said net revenues rose 17 percent to P77 million on the back of a 30 percent growth in commission revenues owing to its Hong Kong operations.

He said COL managed to bring down its expenses by 12 percent from P27 million to P24 million as “management took a more prudent approach in managing the company’s financial assets.”

Bate also attributed the growth in net profit to improved volumes during the period under review.

“Trading volumes stabilized in January and February this year and strongly improved by March,” he noted.

As of end-March this year, COL registered a 28 percent increase in new accounts due to the public’s strong response to new products which include Easy Investment Program (EIP).

COL vice-president Juanis Barredo said the EIP is a personal wealth building program that encourages the public to regularly allot a minimum of P5,000 of their savings to purchase stocks from a basket of blue-chip growth stocks personally picked by the broker firm’s research team.

Bate said the program is an ideal entry point to the stock maket for investors who do not have the time and experience to invest in stocks.

Barredo said first-time investors who are afraid to chart their own investment strategies need not worry because the EIP includes a calculator and an auto-reminder calendar feature that allows clients to simply input their chosen stocks and fix the peso amount they wish to invest on pre-programmed schedules.

In spite of the market’s volatility, COL “continues to invest heavily in investor education, research and technology to empower and guide its customers to achieve their investment goals through its web service, regular seminars, and market briefings,” Bate said.

Last year, COL posted a net profit of P106.08 million, down 23 percent from 2007 on lower revenues and increased expenses.