First Metro posts P401-M net income in 2002

First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, posted net income of P401 million for the year ended 2002.

"First Metro achieved respectable results in 2002 amidst a weak investment and lending market. Profitability was maintained with net income declining by a mere two percent at P401 million against P410 million in 2001," said First Metro president Francisco C. Sebastian in his report during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

The company posted revenues from treasury income of P721.8 million, investment banking income of P79 million, and investment advisory fees of P14 million. It also managed to hold down the increase in operating cost to only five percent for the year.

The total capital raised by First Metro nearly doubled the previous year with P82 billion, or approximately $1.5 billion. This has allowed the company to maintain its dominance of the local peso market, cornering a significant 20-percent market share.

The company also reported beneficial changes in their balance sheet resulting from the P2.8-billion sale of Metrobank shares for the Global Bank merger. Total assets declined to P12 billion with capital funds posted at P7.4 billion. These give First Metro a strong balance sheet with a capital adequacy ratio of over 60 percent at year-end 2002.

First Metro’s activities in 2002 included the landmark P62.9-billion retail treasury bonds issue, the P7-billion bond deal of the Home Guarantee Corp., the $125-million subordinated debt offering of Metrobank, debt restructuring for Legend International resorts, project financing for Ascendas Corp., Ayala Land’s P3-billion bond issue, and the P1.8-billion bond issue, and the P1.8-billion IPO of Banco de Oro.