BDO Leasing profit up 7% to P366 million

MANILA, Philippines - BDO Leasing and Finance Inc., the leasing arm of the SM Group of Companies, posted a seven percent increase in its net income last year to P366 million, the company’s top executive said.

Company president Roberto Lapid said the sustained confidence of their client base on their services helped improve their performance last year.

“The clients of BDO Leasing increasingly relied on us for business support,” Lapid said.

He said operating revenues grew 25.2 percent to P530.5 million, bringing total revenues up to P1.37 billion last year.

BDO Leasing also reported total assets of P10.4 billion, considered the biggest in the industry.

Further boosting BDO Leasing’s performance was the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval to increase its short-term commercial paper (STCP) license to P4 billion, the highest approved ceiling for STCP issuance in the financing industry.

Domestic credit rating agency PhilRatings has given a high PRS2 rating for BDO Leasing’s STCP issuance.

Lapid said the rating reflected investor confidence in the company’s above-average capability to pay both principal and interest.

“The company was conferred this rating due the quality of our loan and lease portfolio, the absolute size of our capital and the vigorous support of our parent, Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO),” Lapid said.

He also attributed BDO Leasing’s growth to its personnel expansion in strategically located branches.

“We managed risks by regularly reviewing our loan and lease portfolio mix to monitor exposure to various industries and made sure that credit approval limits and policies were complied with,” he said.

The official said competition in the financing industry would continue to be tough in the light of the global economic slowdown.

Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that the company’s strong product offerings, extensive network, solid financial backbone and the synergies and brand strength of BDO and the SM Group will keep it on the growth path in 2009.

“We will maintain our dominant position in the financing industry, while ensuring good governance and transparency in all of our transactions,” he added.