BDO Leasing books profit in H1

BDo leasing and finance inc. swung to profitability in the first semester, a turnaround from the net loss it incurred in the same period last year.

In a disclosure on tuesday, the bank said its net earnings reached p81 million in the first half, which is significantly higher than the p29-million loss year-on-year.

The lender attributed the spike in profits to "successful measures implemented to address margin compression."

Gross revenues reached p1.3 billion in the first semester as lease and loan receivables slipped by 23 percent.

This was due to the sale of a portion of the lower yielding portfolio in a bid to cushion margin compression impact and implementation of new accounting standard on leases.

Total expenses dropped by 25 percent to p1.2 billion due to lower borrowings and interest and financing charges—which slid 53 percent on the back of eased policy rates.

In a separate disclosure on tuesday, BDO leasing said its stockholders approved the amendment of the company's corporate name to united platinum holdings Corp. as it seeks to change the nature of business to a holding firm from leasing and financing.

Its parent firm BDO unibank inc. in January said it entered into an agreement to sell a controlling stake in BDO leasing to a third party as the former restructures its leasing business. it is yet to be approved by regulatory authorities.

BDO unibank saw its first quarter earnings drop by 10.20 percent to p8.8 billion, from p9.8 billion in the same period last year due to trading and foreign exchange losses. its total capital base rose to p372.2 billion in the first quarter, booking capital adequacy ratio of p13.8 percent and common equity tier 1 of 12.7 percent.