Seylan's profits reach Rs. 627.08 mn in Q3

Company Result: Seylan Bank recorded a net profit after tax of Rs. 627.08 mn during the nine months period ended September 30, 2006, up 5.36% from the previous year's figure of Rs. 595.20 mn. The Seylan Group's net profit after tax and minority interest too increased to a figure of Rs. 660.83 mn for the period under review, growing at 4.10% over the figure achieved in 2005.

The growth achieved during the past nine months is attributed to the bank's success in achieving growth in core banking activities. The main impetus to growth has come from an expansion in its Net Loans and Advances portfolio which increased to a figure of Rs. 91.9 bn, growing at 12.83% for the nine month period.

An analysis of the Bank's financial showed a growth of 18.5% in the Bank's net interest income (NII) with the figure at Rs. 4.43 bn up from the previous year's figure of Rs. 3.74 bn, thus indicating the positive impact of the growth in the loan book. As a result of the management's continuous focus on recovery, the Bad & Doubtful Debt written back increased significantly from Rs. 296.70 mn to Rs 404.77 mn indicating a growth of 36.42%.

When analysing the operating profit of the Bank before taxes, it is evident that there is a significant surge in growth of 34.97% achieving Rs. 1.35 Bn up from Rs. 1.004 bn recorded same period last year. However due to a sharp rise in taxation of both VAT on financial services and corporate taxes compared to the previous year has resulted in the marginal growth in net profits of the Bank.