Chinatrust net income up 27%

Medium-sized Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corp. registered a 27-percent growth in net income in the first three quarters of 2003 to P473 million, against P373 million in the same period last year. The better-than-expected net earnings performance was due to sustained loan portfolio growth, continued improvement in risk asset quality, profitable treasury activities, and prudent spending.

"The major sources of revenue for the bank continued to be interest on loans and investments, and trading gains.

The conscious effort to rationalize expenses also contributed to the improvement in performance," Chinatrust president Joey A. Bermudez said.

Net loan portfolio expanded 12 percent to P10.5 billion as of end-September versus the P9.4 billion level as of end-December last year. An improvement in the loan levels of the Taiwanese and middle market segment, as well as the mortgage and personal loan portfolios, accounted for this achievement.

Despite these, Chinatrust Phils. reduced its non-performing loans (NPLs) to 4.45 percent of total loan portfolio as of end-September, from 4.59 percent as of end last year. This ratio is way below the industry average of 14.42 percent as of the second quarter of the year.

NPL cover stood at 96 percent during the period, also much better than the industry average of only 56.58 percent as of the second quarter of the year.

Non-performing assets (NPA) ratio, on the other hand, remained at 10 percent, or three times lower than the industry average of 30.44 percent for the same period. Operating expenses for the nine-month period improved by six percent vis-à-vis the same period last year.

The return-on-average-assets (ROAA) and the return-on-average-equity (ROAE) stood at 3.58 percent and 18.17 percent, respectively. These ratios exceeded performance in the same period last year of 3.07 percent and 15.81 percent, respectively.

As of the second quarter of the year, Chinatrust Philippines ranked seventh among the most profitable banks in the country.