FMIC profit up 25% to P1.1B in H1

MANILA, Philippines - First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group of Companies, has reported a net income growth of nearly 25 percent from P900 million in the first semester of 2010 to P1.1 billion this year.

In a statement, FMIC said while the first semester figures were impressive, it was not as dramatic as the 60-percent expansion in the same period last year.

The biggest contributor to the solid returns was the Treasury Group, posting a gross income of P1.5 billion. Its revenue consists of gross interest income earned from fixed income portfolio totaling P1.1 billion, realized trading gains from the sale of government securities which reached P243.9 million, and other income totaling P39.5 million.

Investment banking fee totaled P319.3 million, or 17.7 percent higher than the P271.3-million income generated in the same period of 2010.

This was generated through various deals from both the government and prime corporates, which included: Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.’s (PSALM); P75-billion ROP guaranteed syndicated loan; Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc.’s P11-billion corporate notes; Manila Water Co. Inc.’s P10-billion fixed rate corporate notes; Ayala Corp.’s P10-billion multiple put fixed rate retail bond; SM Prime Holding Inc.’s P7-billion and P5-billion fixed and floating rate notes, respectively; Federal Land Inc.’s P6.6-billion corporate notes; and Aboitiz Power Corp.’s P5-billion fixed rate corporate notes.

“The second half of the year poses an even more positive backdrop for the domestic debt capital market as more corporate fund raising is expected for infrastructure and utilities projects in the remaining half of the year,” FMIC president Roberto Juanchito T. Dispo said.

Interest income grew 4.6 percent due to increase in loan portfolio and bank deposit accounts.

Consolidated resources stood at P72.8 billion, up 13.8 percent compared to the end of last year’s total resources of P64 billion and translates to a 17.87-percent capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

For the whole of 2010, FMIC reported a 67.8-percent increase in net earnings or from P1 billion in 2009 to P1.7 billion.