Security Bank reports P1.4 B net profit in 1st quarter

Screnngrab from www.securitybank.com

MANILA—Security Bank Corp. reported Tuesday a net income of P1.43 billion for the first quarter of 2014, 17 percent up from P1.2 billion during the same period last year, on the back of a double-digit increase in net interest income.

In a statement on Tuesday, Security Bank attributed the faster net income growth (it was 11 percent for the first quarter of 2013) to the 42-percent increase in its net interest income from January to March. The bank added that the return on shareholders equity stood at 13.8 percent during the first quarter.

“The core businesses (loans and deposits) really grew in the first quarter… It was a good first quarter,” Security Bank president and chief executive Alberto S. Villarosa said.

“Our corporate banking had good loan growth as well as deposit growth. Our commercial banking also produced significant growth, partly as a result of the efforts in the last quarter of last year, which were carried over to the first quarter,” he added.

Villarosa declined to provide a net income growth guidance for 2014, saying only that this year’s loan growth should be 15-20 percent. Last year, Security Bank’s net income amounted P5 billion, about a third lower than the record P7.5 billion in 2012.

At end-March, the bank’s total assets expanded 46 percent to P377 billion, up from P258.9 billion last year. The loan book during the first quarter grew 39 percent to P166 billion from P119.2 billion.

First-quarter deposits posted a 49-percent increase to P211 billion from P141.8 billion in 2013. Capital at end-March, meanwhile, reached P42 billion, up 11 percent year-on-year.

The next few quarters look rosy for the banking sector, Villarosa said. “The economy is performing very well. Our credit processes are still tight, but we are looking forward to very healthy second and third quarters.”

Security Bank’s growth this year would also be boosted by the retail segment, Villarosa said. “To complement our strengths in the corporate, commercial and financial market businesses, we have accelerated the journey towards comprehensive retail bank transformation which we started in 2012 to make banking easier and better for our customers. Superior customer experience is the anchor of our value proposition to our target retail markets,” the executive said.

To date, Security Bank has 246 branches.

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