Online stock trading portal posts record profit in 2013

CEBU, Philippines - The attractive equity market in the Philippines and the increasing awareness of Filipinos to venture into stock market investment, pushed up the revenue performance of online investment powerhouse--COL Financial Group Inc.

COL posted record earnings in 2013, with consolidated operating profits growing 13.8 percent year-on-year to P386  million. Growth was driven by the 13.8 percent jump in revenues to P741 million which in turn was a result of the 16.7 percent increase in commission revenues to P540.5 million and the 7.9 percent improvement in interest income to P198.7 million.

“We are pleased to announce another record earnings result for 2013. More importantly, we are glad to see the continuous expansion of our client base and their investments in the Philippine Stock Exchange. At COL, we believe that our profitability is only a consequence of our client’s success.” says President and CEO Dino Bate.

Bate, who was in Cebu recently together with other COL Finance executives to strengthen its grip in the Southern Philippines market, said that the company is capitalizing on the increasing awareness of Filipinos on stock market investments, specifically the young generation.

Operating profits from Philippine operations grew by 17.2 percent  year-on-year to a record P368.9 million The said amount is also an all-time high, exceeding the previous record of P320.5 million which the company earned in 2011.

The growing popularity of investments in the Philippine stock market brought about by falling interest rates and the accelerating growth of the COL’s client base were largely responsible for the company’s record performance, Bate said.

 Despite the volatility of the stock market, value turnover in the Philippine Stock Exchange soared by 43.8 percent during the year, led by the 64.6 percent increase in value turnover of foreign investors.

COL’s client base also maintained its rapid growth, increasing by another 78.7 percent compared to its end 2012 level of 46,166 to 82,476 as of end 2013.

Client equity handled by COL also increased significantly, exceeding the US$1 billion mark to P47.9 billion as of end 2013 from P34.4 billionas of end 2012. The said numbers are a strong testament of the investing public’s growing level of trust towards COL.

Bate said the strong growth in COL’s client base was also largely responsible for the company’s ability to maintain its position as the number one stockbroker in terms of volume of transactions handled, with a market share of 23.1 percent.

Meanwhile, interest income increased largely due to higher utilization of COL’s margin facility and the growth in the Company‘s cash position. Average margin loans expanded by 29.3 percent year-on-year, while COL’s cash position increased by 24.0 percent.

Net profits for the year were flat at  P303.6 million although this was only due to the normalization of the company’s effective tax rate from 9.8 percent in 2012 to 21.3 percentin 2013. Nevertheless, return on average equity remained very healthy at 23.6 percent.

“One of our major objectives going forward is to expand our products and services so that we can better address the needs of our existing clients and other Filipino investors.” added Bate.

Last December, COL signed a memorandum of agreement with iRemit, which will make it easier for overseas Filipinos, immigrants and other nationalities to buy Philippine stocks online through COL’s platform.

Meanwhile, in January this year, it signed a memorandum of agreement with BPI Asset Management and Trust Group and Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. This will allow COL to address the needs of more Filipino investors as clients will eventually be able to purchase professionally managed funds and other financial products outside of equities online through the COL website. (FREEMAN)