Metrobank income jumps 10.56% to P1.73B in 1st half

Industry leader Metropolitan Bank and Trust Corp. (Metrobank) posted an unaudited net income of P1.73 billion in the first six months of the year, 10.56 percent better than the P1.56 billion earnings registered in the same period last year.

A major driver in the banks double-digit profit growth was the 26.77 percent increase in net interest income equivalent to P1.23 billion.

"The bank’s interest income for the first semester increased by 13.14 percent from P11.28 billion to P12.76 billion while interest expense rose slightly by 3.79 percent from P6.69 billion to P6.94 billion year-on-year. As a result, net interest income increased by 26.77 percent at P5.81 billion from P4.59 billion in the same period last year," Metrobank president Antonio S. Abacan Jr. said in a statement.

Commissions, service charges, and fees reached P1.61 billion, up nearly 12 percent from P1.44 billion last year. Recovery and sale of bad assets contributed an additional P369 million to post a 186 percent increase to P566.65 million.

Operating expenses on the other hand, grew by a mere 9.44 percent to P589.19 million.

Meanwhile trust operations generated a 56.67 percent increase to contribute P338.28 million to the bottomline.

Based on its published statement of condition, Metrobank’s total resources amounted to P463.88 billion as of June 23, higher by over five percent than the P441.23 billion level in the same period last year.

Total net loans increased by over nine percent to P236.05 billion from P215.94 billion, while capital stood at P51.96 billion from P51.17 billion a year ago.

In earlier interview, Metrobank officials said they were looking at a full-year 2004 net income of between P3.5 billion to P4.0 billion, from P3.02 billion in 2003 and P2.52 billion in 2002.

"Hitting the lower end of the income target of P3.5 billion will bring Metrobank to its income growth levels in the late ’90s,"Metrobank executive vice president and chief financial officer Alfredo P. Javellana said.