PBCom net income nearly doubles in 2016

MANILA, Philippines - Listed Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) nearly doubled its consolidated net income in 2016, mainly driven by trading and lending activities.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, PBCom reported that its net income for full-year 2016 surged to P399.9 million from the P203.7 million it reported in 2015 based on equity method for parent and subsidiaries.

“The bottom line grew by 96.33 percent or P196.2 million from the P203.7 million realized last year which can be attributed to favorable market conditions that resulted to higher revenues from trading and lending activities,” PBC said.

The parent firm accounted for bulk of the financial growth as its net income jumped 165 percent to P350.1 million from the P132.1 million in the previous year.

“PBCom management set to accomplish and achieved increased profitability through combined topline growth in revenues, driven by improvements in its core business and prudent cost management,” the bank said.

Total interest income for 2016 improved 10.16 percent to P3.63 billion from P3.3 billion, this was driven by the over P9.6 billion worth of credits it provided to its clients during the year. This resulted to increased income on loans and receivables of P304.7 million.

“Income from trading and investment securities increased 7.48 percent brought about by better market conditions and portfolio mix, while interest on deposit with other banks declined 39.22 percent or P24.3 million,” PBCom said.

Moreover, the company’s trading activities also picked up in 2016 as trading gains grew P239.3 million from the P7.7 million year-end level in the previous year.

“Foreign exchange gain likewise improved 12.49 percent or P1.3 million, while rental income went up P70.1 million from last year’s level of P404.1 million,” the bank said.

However, foreign exchange gain was offset by the lower recognized fair value gain on investment properties that declined by P655.3 million and profit from assets sold and exchange and income from trust operation by P4.2 million and P1.4 million, respectively.

This translated to a 4.32 percent drop in total operating income to P4.05 billion from the P4.23 billion reported in the previous year.

Also, PBCom said its loans and receivables expanded 28 percent from P34.6 billion to P44.3 billion,as it focused on secured consumer loans and bankable large and middle market corporates.

“This contributed to the increase in interest income from loans and receivables by P240.2 million to P2.5 billion,” the bank said.

PBCom president and CEO Patricia May Siy expressed her optimism for the bank’s further growth.

“The rebuilding continues, paving the way for the bank to deliver its optimum returns to its stakeholder,”Siy said in a statement.

“Backed by very stable and supportive shareholders, able and cohesive management team, investments in infrastructure, PBCom is working its way to become a significant player in the Philippine banking industry,” the company said.