BDO profit up 17% to P32.7 billion in 2018

MANILA, Philippines — Earnings of BDO Unibank Inc. went up by 17 percent to a record P32.7 billion last year from P28.1 billion in 2017, topping the bank’s profit guidance of P31 billion on strong recurring earnings from its core businesses.

The country’s largest bank in terms of assets, capital, loans, and deposits booked a 15 percent increase in its loan book to P2 trillion due to healthy increases across all market segments, while its deposit base grew by 14 percent to P2.4 trillion

“Leading the bank’s performance was the solid growth in its core lending and deposit-taking businesses,” BDO said in a statement.

The publicly-listed bank registered a 20 percent expansion in net interest income to P98.3 billion from P81.8 billion as net interest margins (NIM) improved to 3.64 percent from 3.48 percent.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised interest rates in five straight rate-setting meetings from May to November last year as part of a tightening cycle to prevent inflation from spiraling out of control.

Inflation accelerated to 5.2 percent last year from 2.9 percent in 2017, exceeding the central bank’s two to four percent target.

On the other hand, BDO’s non-interest income climbed by 5.3 percent to P49.7 billion from P47.2 billion, with fee-based income contributing P30.7 billion.

Overall, the bank’s gross operating income grew 15 percent to P148 billion from P129 billion.

Likewise, operating expenses rose by 16 percent to P98 billion from P84.9 billion in line with the bank’s sustained investments in branch network and strategic initiatives.

BDO’s capital base stood at P328.1 billion, with capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 13.7 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, both above regulatory levels.

“BDO is well-positioned to take advantage of market opportunities and strengthen its leadership position in the industry by leveraging on its strong business franchise and extensive distribution network,” it added.