Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) reported a 26.4 percent increase in net income to P38.6 billion in the first nine months of 2023 from P30.5 billion in the same period last year due to sustained loan and margin growth.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank’s total revenues rose by 15.3 percent to P100.9 billion, bolstered by a 24.5 percent increase in the net interest income to P76.8 billion, and expansion of its average asset base by 8.1 percent and net interest margin to 4.07 percent.
The bank said the 26.4 percent increase was a “historical high” for its nine-month net income.
BPI noted that its non-interest income would have been higher by P3.3 billion or 15.7 percent, based on higher fees from credit cards, bancassurance, service charges and trading gains, if not for the 6.6 percent decrease in non-interest income to P24.1 billion caused by property sale gain last year.
Its operating expenses jumped 21.3 percent to P48.6 billion in this year’s first nine months compared to P40.1 billion in the same period in 2022. The increase is attributed to larger spending for manpower, technology, and marketing with a 48.2 percent cost-to-income ratio.
The bank booked provisions of P3.0 billion, which is 60 percent lower than P7.5 billion in the first nine months of 2022.
It recorded a marginally weaker asset quality with a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio of 1.97 percent and a NPL coverage ratio of 158.95 percent compared to the period last year.
Notably, BPI also saw its “highest quarterly net income achieved in the past decade” at P13.5 billion for the third quarter of 2023, up by 33.3 percent from the P10.1 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2022.
Revenues jumped in the quarter to P35.3 billion by 18.3 percent from P29.8 billion in 2022 driven by higher net interest income and non-interest income.
BPI added that international credit rating agencies S&P, Moody’s and Fitch have affirmed its credit ratings, and remarked a “stable outlook” for the bank, as of September this year. Its investment-grade ratings include BBB+ from S&P, Baa2 from Moody’s, and BBB- from Fitch.