RCBC profit up 5.4% to P2.23 billion in H1

MANILA, Philippines - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) reported a net income of P2.23 billion in the first six months of 2011 or 5.4 percent more than the P2.11 billion earned in the same period in 2010, the bank said in a statement.

For the whole of 2010, the universal bank of the Yuchengco Group of Companies reported net earnings at P4.25 billion, the first time the bank breached the P4-billion earnings level.

The double-digit growth in loans and other income sources, as well as fresh capital infusion, boosted the bank’s first semester performance.

Net interest income reached P5.37 billion and other operating income hit P3.94 billion, growing by 23.8 percent due to: the 12.6-percent growth in service fees and commissions; 12.8-percent expansion in trust fees commissions; and another 54-percent growth in trading gains and foreign currency trading. In fact, RCBC’s net interest margin of 4.2 percent is among the highest in the industry.

Total consolidated resources reached P 301 billion, or 6.38 percent higher than the P283 billion posted in the same period last year. 

Loans grew to P162.92 billion as corporate loans rose by 10 percent and SME loans by eight percent.   Parent bank loans and investments grew 12.8 percent year-on-year.

On the other hand, its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropped to 2.36 percent from the previous year’s 4.73 percent.

Capital funds grew 19.7 percent to P37.61 billion from P31.42 billion last year. 

Recently, the International Finance Corp. (IFC) invested P2.1 billion in RCBC while CVC (one of the biggest private equity funds in the world) signed an agreement to purchase P5 billion worth of RCBC shares, inclusive of P3.7 billion in new capital. Both placements are at P29 per share. 

As of the end of June 2011, RCBC manages 373 branches, including the 10 branches of J.P. Laurel Bank and two branches of Rizal Microbank. It also operates 652 ATMs. 

The expansion of its distribution channels through increasing the number of its branch and ATM networks, the addition of more features to its electronic banking facilities and the recent partnership with Mercury Drug, which launched the RCBC MyWallet Mercury Drug Card, all contributed to the double-digit growth in deposits, RCBC said.