Banco De Oro Q1 net income doubles to P2-B

Listed company Banco De Oro Unibank, Inc.’s net income doubled to P2 billion for the first quarter of this year on the back of stronger overall operations, the company told the Philippines Stock Exchange on Tuesday. BDO’s net interest income went up by 19 percent to P8.3 billion as net interest margins gained 4.3 percent from 3.9 percent in 2009. Its loan portfolio likewise improved by 18 percent to P469.1 billion compared to the year-ago level. “Low-cost deposits sustained their growth, resulting in lower funding costs," the company said in a statement. Its fee-based service income grew by 17 percent to P2.5 billion in the first quarter. “The bank continues to derive bulk of its operating income from core lending and deposit-taking business and fee-based service activities, leading to a smaller contribution from volatile trading and foreign exchange gains." Its operating costs, meanwhile, increased by five percent to P8.5 billion. “The bank’s organization has stabilized and major capital expenditures required to upgrade and properly scale its information technology and operating infrastructure have now been completed," the company added. BDO said it also allotted P1.6 billion to improve the non-performing loan coverage ratio to 84 percent. The company’s capital adequacy ratio increased from 12.4 percent to 14 percent, with its Tier 1 capital ratio increasing from 8.4 percent to 10 percent after completing a $250-million capital raising program with the International Finance Corporation, the IFC Capitalization Fund, and other institutions. -- GMANews.TV