BDO profit vaults 13% to P11.7 billion

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. booked a 13 percent rise in net income to P11.7 billion in the first quarter,  driven by its  core businesses.

The country’s largest lender said in a disclosure to the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) that its net interest income inched up by six percent to P33.9 billion from January to March this year compared to P32.02 billion in the same period last year.

BDO’s loan book expanded by seven percent to P2.4 trillion on strong demand from corporate borrowers, the recovery in the middle market, and the resilience of the consumer segment.

Its deposit base amounted to P2.8 trillion as current account/savings account (CASA) deposits grew by 11 percent, now comprising 86 percent of total deposits.

The non-interest income of the bank went up by nine percent to P16.7 billion from P15.37 billion, driven by fees and insurance premiums.

Trading and foreign exchange gains were in line with normalized business levels.

Operating expenses  inched up by three percent to P31.8 billion despite the 27.6 percent increase in provisioning for credit losses to P3.7 billion.

BDO said asset quality improved as non-performing loan (NPL) ratio declined to 2.72 percent with the continued reopening of the economy from strict COVID-19 lockdowns, resulting to greater mobility.

The bank’s NPL coverage rose to 120.8 percent.

BDO’s total capital base strengthened to P429.9 billion, with the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio both increasing to 14.6 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.

In end-March, the bank’s return on common equity (ROCE) increased to 11.09 percent from 10.56 percent, while its book value per common share rose by seven percent to P96.47 as of end-March.

“BDO’s sustained earnings performance, robust business franchise, and solid capital base place the bank in a good position for long-term sustainable growth,” the bank said.

BDO has the country’s largest distribution network, with over 1,500 consolidated operating branches and more than 4,400 ATMs nationwide. It also has 16 international offices (including full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore) in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.