BDO Posts Record PhP22.8B Net Income in 2014

Makati–(PHStocks)–BDO Unibank Inc. (PSE: BDO) President and Chief Executive Officer Nestor V. Tan has reported a record PhP22.8 billion in net income in 2014. This figure matched the Bank’s earnings guidance and represented an 18% growth in terms of normalized earnings.

The Bank’s outstanding performance was attributed to increased earnings from its core businesses, mainly lending and deposit taking and fee based services. Despite its continued business expansion, operating expense growth was well managed, and asset quality continued to improve.

BDO continued its momentum in the first quarter of 2015 with a net income of PhP6.l billion, 12 percent higher year-on-year. Net interest income continued to be the main earnings driver, increasing to PhP13.3 billion. The Bank’s customer loans grew by 15 percent year-on-year to hit PhP1.1 trillion, while total deposits now stand at PhP1.5 trillion, up 12%. The deposit growth was driven by low cost deposits, which grew 17% from sustained marketing efforts and branch expansion.

Fee based income from payments, transaction banking, and asset management services also expanded to PhP4.3 billion, while treasury-related activities were off to a good start with a contribution of PhP3.4 billion.

Operating expense growth was contained at 12 percent, bringing pre-provisioning operating profit to PhP8.7 billion, up 19 percent year-on-year.
The Bank set aside PhP1.2 billion in provisions for the quarter even as asset quality remained healthy with NPL ratio at 1.3 percent and NPL cover of 192 percent. With a capital base of PhP1.81 billion, the Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained comfortably above the regulatory minimum under the Basel III framework at 11.9 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

With respect to the 2014 performance, the Board approved a special cash dividend of PhP0.90 per share during its regular board meeting. The Bank likewise disclosed its earnings guidance of PhP25.1 billion for the full-year 2015.