L B Finance Q3 profits up

Financial pace-setters LB Finance released its quarterly results, confirming its continuous dominance despite a nerve-wraching year for the finance industry, recording a momentous 47 percent increase in net profits for the third quarter of 2009/10.

LB Finance reported that its total earnings grew to Rs.1.048 billion recording a net profit of Rs 123 million which is an increase by 47 percent over the same quarter of the previous year.

The profit before tax, according to the financial statement released to the media, was up by 44 percent to Rs. 211 Mn. The 3rd quarter ensured that the company continues to remain resilient to negative market forces recording a 19 percent rise in profits in the preceding nine months for the year under review.

Profits before tax were up to Rs 486mn from Rs 419 mn as against the same time period of the preceding year.

LB Finance Managing Director Sumith Adhihetty,attributed his company’s continued impressive performance to prudent financial stewardship and farsighted vision which enabled the company to remain robust even during a turbulent year.

“We have built our success on a sound footing and remain passionately accountable as financial stewards, unfailingly responding to the confidence our depositors have placed in us”, he said.

The company continued to strengthen its retail business, employing innovation and reach, opening new branches which resulted in deposits growing to 11.8 billion as at December 31, 2009.

As the company took roots in more provinces its focus on reaching out to people living below the poverty line grew substantially.

“We are developing our own model in micro-finance where we will commit ourselves to bringing more people into the formal economy”, Adhihetty said.

He said the company is setting in motion an aggressive growth strategy which should see renewed growth in the current year.

“LB Finance has been recording phenomenal growth in the past few years, providing the momentum for ambitious expansion and product innovation.

We will open more branches this year and offer the market more tailor-made products”, he said.