Operating profit for the year Rs. 3,402mn and for the 2019 Q4 Rs. 1,431mn
Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC, “the Truly Sri Lankan Bank” ended 2019 Q4 with its best financial results ever, to report a Post Tax Profit of Rs. 726.84 million during the final quarter, recording an impressive growth of 58% demonstrating its resilience amidst challenging conditions.
Meanwhile, the Bank’s operating profit before all taxes for the quarter increased by 78% reflecting strong growth in core banking activities and robust e f forts in credit quality management.
The Bank closed the FY 2019 with an Operating Profit before all taxes of Rs. 3,402.68 million, up by 31% which again is its best ever achievement despite less favourable macro economic conditions and tight monetary & fiscal policies. The steeper increase in the taxes and levies on financial services of 58%, which include the Debt Repayment Levy ( DRL) undermined the Bank’s bottom-line to a great extent.
This performance translated in to a Post Tax Profit of Rs.1,750.56 million in 2019, which is a 14% increase despite the sharp increase in taxes including DRL. Buoyed by the impressive profits, the Earnings per Share for the year 2019 rose to Rs. 3.96 Cents from Rs. 3.48 share in the comparative period.
Supported by its superlative performance, the Bank managed to increase its Return on Equity and Return on Assets (pre-tax) ratios to 14.5% and 1.52% in 2019 which now rank among the highest in the industry. These ratios stood at 13.73% and 1.28% respectively at the end of 2018. The Bank’s Net Asset Value per Share as at 31st December 2019 increased to Rs. 30.12, from Rs.25.41, a year before.