Cargills Bank 1Q net loss exceeds Rs.70mn

14 May 2015 07:12 am Views - 1578

The banking arm of the Cargills group, Cargills Bank Limited (CBL), recorded a net loss of Rs.70.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (1Q’15). This is in comparison to the Rs.20.6 million loss the bank incurred for the corresponding period last year.

However, the banking group’s performance is not directly comparable on a year-on-year (YoY) basis as the bank started its official business on June 30, 2014 – end of 2Q’14.

The loss per share increased to 16 cents by the end of 1Q’15.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, the banking group posted a net profit of Rs.44 million (10 cents per share) due to corporate tax credit.

The core-banking operations of the banking group underwent a structural change during the two quarters but the net interest income remained virtually flat at Rs.97.1 million (down by 1 percent YoY) due to the higher interest expense as the bank built up its deposit portfolio.

The net interest margin of the bank on a standalone basis further weakened to 4.06 percent by the end of 1Q’15 from 5.01 percent on December 31, 2015.
The return on equity is still on negative 6.49 percent but the growth in advances against the capital will gradual improve the ratio.

The bank grew its loans and advances by 27 percent to Rs.2.8 billion of which overdrafts composed of Rs.1.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the deposits grew by as much as 69 percent to Rs.2.2 billion of which Rs.1.7 billion is from time deposits. This is considered as a significant achievement given the deposit interest rates are at historically low levels.

Under the banking and financial sector consolidation programme mooted by the then government, CBL acquired a 76.51 percent stake in the licensed finance company, Capital Alliance Finance PLC, in August last year.

Cargills Bank is among the few small and mid-sized licensed commercial banks which will have to increase its Tier I (core) capital base up to Rs.10 billion by January 1, 2016 under the Central Bank’s capital enhancement plan.

As of March 31, 2015, the Tier I capital base of the bank stood at Rs.3.9 billion, requiring a further Rs.6.1 billion in a short span of nine months and the bank is likely to comply with the capital requirement given the concentrated nature of its shareholding.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratios (CARs) were significantly above the regulatory minimums thus providing much-needed capital for lending purposes and growth.

By March 31, 2015, the Tier I CAR of the bank on a standalone basis stood at 73 percent while the Tier II CAR stood at 69 percent significantly above the regulatory minimums of 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

By the end of 1Q15 the bank operated with three branches and 142 employees.

The bank’s asset book is of high quality as it had no non-performing advances.