BDO earnings jump 54% to P20.2 B in six months

Earnings of publicly-held BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO) jumped by 54 percent to P20.2 billion in the first half from P13.1 billion in the same period last year as the country’s largest lender continued to book strong recurring profit from its core businesses.

The amount accounted for more than half or 53 percent of the full-year profit target set by BDO at a record P38.5 billion, 17.7 percent higher than the P32.7 billion recorded in 2018.

Aside from its robust core businesses, the Sy-led bank also cited the solid growth in fee income and normalization of trading as well as foreign exchange gains.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), BDO said its net interest income increased by 24 percent to P56.9 billion as net interest margins improved to 3.99 percent from 3.50 percent.

The bank’s loan book grew by seven percent to P2 trillion as it continued to generate double-digit growth in the consumer and middle market segments.

On the other hand, BDO said its deposit base inched up by three percent to P2.4 trillion as customers shift to higher-yielding fixed income investments, primarily bankissued bonds.

Likewise, BDO said its non-interest income surged by 29 percent to P29.5 billion as fee-based income and insurance premiums posted double-digit growth.

The bank said trading and foreign exchange gains normalized to P3.6 billion on favorable capital market conditions.

BDO continued to expand its footprint, translating to a 21 percent increase in operating expenses. It opened 53 domestic branches and offices from January to June this year.

“With expectations of better economic prospects going forward, BDO will continue to build on its business franchise and extensive distribution network to tap new growth areas and underserved markets,” the bank said.

It has one of the largest distribution networks with more than 1,300 branches and over 4,000 ATMs nationwide. It also has presence in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as 23 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

It added taxes and licenses and policy reserves at BDO Life increased by 51 percent in the first semester.