NDB Bank continues steady growth
Posts profit of Rs. 1.3 billion in second quarter:
The core banking revenue (net interest income, forex and commissions,
etc ) of NDB Bank grew at a steady pace by 15% over the corresponding
period last year, as a result of the significant growth in loans and
advances by 20% and deposits by 23% over the comparative period.
CEO of NDB Bank Eran Wickramaratne |
The Profit Before Tax and the Profit After Tax of the Bank excluding
the exceptional equity capital gains earned by the Bank during the
corresponding period last year increased by 18% and 23% respectively to
record Rs. 1.3 billion and Rs. 632 million for the second quarter of
2008.
The group profit after tax and the profit attributable to
shareholders also increased by 7% and 9% respectively over the
corresponding period last year excluding the equity capital gains earned
by the Bank during the corresponding period last year, CEO of NDB Bank
Eran Wickramaratne said.
The Bank continues to progress as a financial service provider by
offering a comprehensive range of banking products to its corporate, SME
and consumer customers. These products and services are backed by
efficient electronic processing including ATM’s, state of art Internet
Banking Services, Touch - Banking by phone and multiple delivery
channels, operated by teams of highly experienced banking professionals.
NDB Bank took another step towards consolidating its position in the
financial sector by purchasing 23.86% of shares owned by Bank of Ceylon
in the Capital Development & Investment Company PLC (CDIC) for Rs 1.15 b
on 11 July 2008. Prior to the purchase, NDB owned 75.8% of CDIC, a
public quoted company in the Colombo Stock Exchange. The recent purchase
of CDIC shares by NDB increases its effective shareholding in Eagle
Insurance Company PLC (Eagle) from 32.4% to 41.1%. CDIC is now
positioned as an effective vehicle for NDB’s plans for local and
regional growth.
The customers of the NDB Bank also have access to the products and
services of the NDB Group, including insurance from Eagle, stock
brokering from NDBS stockbrokers and Investment Banking from NDB
Investment Bank, among others. Innovation and technology have been the
hallmarks of NDB Bank and the rapid expansion of the branch network has
helped the customers to enjoy an excellent service from its highly
customer oriented staff.
The overheads of the Bank increased by 21% as compared with the
corresponding period last year. The increased expenditure was due to
investments in distribution channels, technology and brand improvement
and inflationary pressure. Despite the increased expenditure, the Bank’s
cost income ratio of 43% for the current period still compares very
favourably with the ratio of other local Banks.
The effective overall tax rate of the Bank inclusive of the Financial
Services VAT was 53% for the current period as compared with 48% for the
corresponding period last year. The lower effective rate for the
corresponding period last year was due to the exceptional equity capital
gains that are exempt from income tax, earned by the Bank during the
first half of 2007. Excluding the effect of that gain, the effective
rate of tax on core banking income was 54%. |