UCPB earnings up 18% to P1.3B in first semester

MANILA, Philippines - United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) registered an 18-percent increase in net earnings to P1.3 billion in the first half of the year, from P1.1 billion in the same period last year.

UCPB executive vice president and chief finance officer Cesar Rubio said the bank expanded its loan portfolio and trading and investment securities holdings substantially during the period as deposits continued to grow steadily.

At the end of June 30, UCPB’s total loans reached P64 billion, up 15 percent from P55.5 billion, while trading and investment securities totaled P49.4 billion, up nine percent from P45.4 billion a year ago.

The bank’s total deposits rose 10 percent, from P137.6 billion to P151 billion during the period, with most of the increment coming in the form of low-cost current accounts and savings accounts.

Rubio said the combination of higher loan and investment volumes and lower cost of funds pushed up the bank’s net interest income 16 percent, from P2.5 billion to P2.9 billion.

UCPB’s subsidiaries also posted higher income in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year. Their combined profits totaled P191 million, 23 percent higher than the P155 million a year earlier. The bank’s main subsidiaries are UCPB Savings Bank, UCPB Leasing and Finance Corp. and UCPB Securities.

Total assets increased to P184.9 billion at the end of the first half, up nine percent from P169.9 billion a year ago. Total capital of the bank went up 18 percent, from P13.2 billion to P15.6 billion.

Rubio said UCPB plans to open five more branches before the year ends to further boost deposit generation and lending operation. This will bring the number of its branches to 188.

The bank is also issuing this month P3-billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD), proceeds of which will be deployed to increase long-term assets, mainly loans to the consumer sector, Rubio said.

UCPB has been steadily growing its loans to the consumer sector where margins are higher. In the first six months of the year, the bank booked P3.7 billion of consumer loans, 16 percent more than the P3.2 billion in the same period last year.