HNB 4Q net surge 93%; records Rs.9.8bn net profit for FY14
27 February 2015 04:47 am
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Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), Sri Lanka’s second largest private sector bank with an asset base of Rs.600 billion said its net profit for the December quarter (4Q14) surged 93 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rs.3.65 billion.
The banking group’s net profit for FY14 rose 28 percent yoy to Rs.9.8 billion.
The earnings per share for the December quarter improved to Rs.9.09 from Rs.4.73 and for the year from Rs.19.20 to Rs.24.50.
Commenting on the performance, Chairperson, Dr Ranee Jayamaha stated that “we are very pleased to announce that the bank has once again demonstrated resilience and posted an all-round exceptional performance notwithstanding the challenging global environment, adverse impacts on the pawning portfolio and a substantial reduction in interest margins.”
The Bank recorded a strong growth of over 28 percent in Current Accounts and Savings Accounts (CASA) which supported in funding the impressive growth of over 20 percent in its loan book (excluding pawning).
The CASA ratio exceeded 45 percent in December 2014 compared to 38 percent in 2013 and helped towards cushioning the impact from the drop in interest margins during the year due to the decline in Average Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) by approximately 600 bps and the significant drop in the pawning portfolio to 5 percent of the loan book from 13 percent as at end of 2013. Fee and commission income increased by 16.7 percent to Rs.4.9 billion for the year 2014. In addition to the growth in card acquiring business, fees from trade, guarantees and the rapid increase in the uptake of digital banking facilitated this growth in fee income.
Net gain from financial investments increased to Rs.1.4 billion, driven by profits from sale of investments and increased dividend income from the bank’s long term equity investments while the gains recorded on treasury bonds and bills contributed positively to improve the net trading position compared to the previous year.