Security Bank Corporation reported a 14 percent growth in net income to P5.7 billion in the first half of 2020 due to higher net interest income and trading gains coupled with proactive provisioning.
In a disclosure, the bank said total revenues increased 68 percent to P25.9 billion. Excluding trading gains, total revenues grew 30 percent to P18.7 billion from the same period last year.
Total net interest income grew 34 percent to P15.8 billion. Securities trading gains totaled P7.2 billion, significantly higher than the P1 billion in the first half of 2019. Service charges, fees and commissions decreased 10 percent to P1.7 billion.
Pre-provision operating profit (PPOP) in the first half of 2020 was P15.6 billion, 120 percent higher than in the same period last year.
The Bank set aside P11 billion as provisions for credit losses in the first half of 2020, a significant increase versus P639 million in the same period of 2019, which reflects the Bank’s proactive provisioning and anticipates a challenging economic environment brought about by the pandemic.
Gross non-performing loan ratio was at 1.58 percent. NPL reserve cover increased to 174 percent from 128 percent a quarter ago and 125 percent a year ago.
Total deposits increased 14 percent year-on-year to P511 billion. Low-cost savings and demand deposits grew 27 percent and increased to 48 percent of total deposits, up from 43 percent a year ago.
Total loans, excluding SB Finance’s portfolio, stood at P450 billion, up 7 percent year-on-year. Retail loans were up 25 percent year-on-year. Retail loans are 27 percent of total loans. Wholesale loans grew 4 percent year-on-year.
“We are carrying forward the momentum from Q1-2020, taking advantage of market opportunities for trading gains, along with prudent growth in the underlying core businesses,” said Security Bank President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra.
He added that, “As we expect the impact of the pandemic on our loan portfolio will continue to unfold over the coming quarters, we have adopted a proactive stance on our provisions. In spite of that, our balance sheet remains strong and allows us to invest in our transformation initiatives.”