NTB 1H pre-tax profits up by 27%

Nations Trust Bank ( NTB) closed the first half ending June 2017 with a pre- tax profit of Rs. 2,977 million, up by 27 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.

Post tax profits, the bank said in a media release, also showed gains but at a lower rate of growth of 12 per cent as a result of the increase in the effective tax rate stemming from higher financial ser- vices VAT as well as the additional tax provision of Rs. 90 million for the inter- company dividend transfer which impacted the group bottom line growth.

However the dividend income received from the subsidiaries resulted in a higher profit growth for the bank and further strengthened the capital base of the bank.

"Performance was driven by the momentum achieved in the bank's core activities which posted a revenue growth of 21 per cent while the operating expenses increase was kept at 11 per cent. The resulting improvement to operating margins were somewhat subdued by higher impairment charges for the period under review," it said.

Growth in the loan portfolio was primarily driven by SME and corporate whilst moderate growth was recorded in leasing and credit cards. Commenting on the results and achievements, Renuka Fernando, CEO/Executive Director stated "The first half results for our bank demonstrates commendable performance across all our businesses as seen by the growth numbers across all key portfolios. We will continue to drive our growth while ensuring that we do not compro- mise on our strong risk management platform. Internally we continue to drive our efficiencies through innovative technology such as robotics and AI and will continue our focus towards leveraging these efficiencies. We are confident that these technological capabilities will enable us to steer Nations Trust Bank through its next phase of growth in a fast changing environment".