Landbank profit rises to P9.3 B in 8 months

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Land Bank of the Philippines reported a 2.2 percent rise in net income to P9.3 billion in the first eight months from a year-ago level of P9.1 billion on the back of its growing loan and investment portfolio.

Landbank said the growth was driven by the 24 percent jump in loan to P597.1 billion as of end-August from P483.6 billion in end-August last year while income from investments grew five percent to P12.3 billion as total investments reached P481 billion.

The bank said it remains confident it would sustain this growth and hit its full-year net income target of P13.75 billion. Last year, Landbank attained a net income of P13.6 billion, up two percent from P13.3 billion in 2015.

Landbank said this continuous growth in net income buoyed its capital to P100 billion in August, nine percent higher than the year-ago level of P91.6 billion.

Its capital adequacy ratio, meanwhile, stood at 12.66 percent, while the Tier 1 Ratio settled at 11.84 percent.

“These strong capital ratios reflect Landbank’s sound financial position and our continuing drive to improve our capital base so we can further expand support to our priority sectors, especially farmers and fishers,” Landbank president and CEO Alex Buenaventura said.