Bangkok--18 Oct--Bangkok Bank
Bangkok Bank has reported a consolidated net profit for the first nine months of 2013 of Baht 28.2 billion, an increase of Baht 3.8 billion or 15.5 percent from the same period in 2012. Net interest income rose by Baht 853 million. Non-interest income rose by Baht 4.4 billion and operating expenses increased by Baht 324 million.
The Bank’s continued growth was due to its strategy of focusing on working closely with customers and offering, in a timely fashion, products and services appropriate to the needs of all customer segments.
Lending has continued to grow for all customer segments — Corporate, SME and Consumer. At the end of September 2013, total lending was Baht 1,685.4 billion, an increase of Baht 81.0 billion or 5.1 percent from the end of 2012.
In terms of asset quality, at the end of September 2013 non-performing loans (NPLs) were Baht 46.6 billion. The Bank is closely monitoring customers in this group and working alongside them to find ways to solve their problems.
The Bank continues to be disciplined in setting aside every quarter provisioning expenses on loan and debt securities in order to prepare for future uncertainties. Provisioning expenses for the first nine months of 2013 were Baht 6.9 billion, the ratio of loan loss reserves to NPLs stood at 200.9 percent, and the ratio of loan loss reserves to total loans was 5.6 percent.
In terms of liquidity, at the end of September 2013 deposits were Baht 1,872.0 billion, an increase of Baht 37.4 billion or 2.0 percent from the end of 2012. Loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 90.0 percent.
Total operating income for the first nine months of 2013 was Baht 69.4 billion, an increase of Baht 5.2 billion or 8.1 percent from the same period last year. Non-interest income increased by Baht 4.4 billion or 19.0 percent, due mainly to net fees and service income which increased by Baht 2.0 billion or 14.0 percent from the same period last year. This was in line with the Bank’s strategy to increase fee income. In the first nine months of this year, the ratio of fee income to total operating income rose to 23.2 percent from 22.0 percent for the first nine months of 2012.
The Bank continued to invest in many areas, including branch network, human resources and system improvements. As a result, operating expenses for the first nine months of 2013 amounted to Baht 27.4 billion, an increase of Baht 324 million or 1.2 percent from the same period in 2012. Operating expenses mainly consisted of personnel expenses of Baht 15.6 billion and premises and equipment expenses of Baht 6.5 billion.
At the same time the Bank has maintained its high level of capital. With the inclusion of net profit for the third quarter 2013, the total capital adequacy ratio, the common equity Tier 1 ratio and the Tier 1 capital ratio would be approximately 18.1 percent, 15.5 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively.
Shareholders’ equity at the end of September 2013 was Baht 286.6 billion, equivalent to 11.6 percent of total assets. Book value per share was Baht 150.13.