Bangkok--19 Apr--Bangkok Bank
Bangkok Bank reports first-quarter net profit of Baht 9.0 billionNet profit up 7.8% Non-interest income up 15.9%
Bangkok Bank and its subsidiaries have reported a net profit of Baht 9.0 billion for the first quarter of 2013, an increase of Baht 653 million or 7.8 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Net interest income rose by Baht 654 million, non-interest income by Baht 1.2 billion, and operating expenses by Baht 1.2 billion.
Bangkok Bank President Chartsiri Sophonpanich said: “We expect the overall Thai economy to grow satisfactorily in 2013, driven by continued private sector investment — both within Thailand and offshore — in order to increase business capacity and to lift productivity to provide more value-added products. Businesses are also investing to increase their competitiveness and prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).”
“The government’s infrastructure projects will also give the private sector more confidence to expand.”
At the end of March 2013, the bank’s total lending was Baht 1,592.3 billion, similar to the end of December 2012, and higher by Baht 82.1 billion or 5.4 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, with growth in every customer segment: Corporate, SME, and Consumer.
Non-performing loans were Baht 43.4 billion or equivalent to 2.3 percent of total lending, the same level as the end of last year. However, the bank still maintained the high quality of its loan portfolio and its consistent provisioning policy. The bank set aside provisioning expenses of Baht 1.7 billion for the first quarter of 2013, representing a loan loss reserve coverage of NPLs of 203.3 percent.
Although the competition for deposits remained intense, the bank was still able to maintain deposits at the same level as the previous quarter. At the end of March 2013, deposits were Baht 1,833.1 billion and the loan-to-deposit ratio had declined from 87.4 percent at the end of 2012 to 86.9 percent.
For the first quarter of 2013 net interest income amounted to Baht 13.9 billion. Net interest margin increased from 2.41 percent in the fourth quarter of the prior year to 2.44 percent, mainly due to a decrease in cost of deposits as maturing deposits were refinanced at lower cost.
Net fees and service income was Baht 5.2 billion, an increase of Baht 540 million or 11.6 percent from the first quarter of 2012. The main reason for the increase was growth in bancassurance and mutual funds, while fees and service income from credit card also increased.
Gains on investment amounted to Baht 1.1 billion, an increase of Baht 571 million from the first quarter of 2012, due mainly to gains from debt and equity securities.
Operating expenses were Baht 9.6 billion, an increase of Baht 1.2 billion or 14.2 percent from the first quarter of the previous year, mainly from employee expenses which rose by Baht 768 million or 16.7 percent, due to salary adjustments and special allowances paid to staff. Other expenses were Baht 1.3 billion, an increase of Baht 268 million, due mainly to expenses for supporting retail business, such as marketing and advertising expenses. The cost-to-income ratio was 42.2 percent for the latest quarter.
On January 1, 2013 the bank adopted the Bank of Thailand’s Basel III capital adequacy regulations. At the end of March 2013 the bank’s capital adequacy ratio, as defined by the Bank of Thailand, was approximately 16.7 percent. The Tier 1 capital ratio and Common Equity Tier 1 ratio were approximately 14.1 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively.
Shareholders’ equity at the end of March 2013 was Baht 285.1 billion, equivalent to 11.7 percent of total assets. Book value per share was Baht 149.35, an increase of Baht 6.84 from the end of 2012.