AUB’s 3-month net income surged 34%
While the ongoing global trade war may cause an economic slowdown, Ng family-led Asia United Bank (AUB) said it was confident of maintaining a strong performance this year after posting a 34-percent surge in its first-quarter earnings.
AUB president Manuel Gomez said in a statement on Tuesday they were “cautiously optimistic about the near-term outlook for the global economy due to the ongoing trade wars.”
“We will continue to adjust our sails to navigate this global turmoil and remain agile,” Gomez added.
According to AUB, its bottom line in the January to March period reached P3.1 billion, up from P2.3 billion in the same quarter last year, owing to its lending activities and digital upgrades.
Its net interest income climbed by 8 percent to P4.3 billion as its loan book expanded by more than a third to P252.6 billion.
Despite the loan growth, AUB’s asset quality improved, with its nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio easing to 0.35 percent from 0.47 percent of total loans previously.
NPL coverage ratio was also higher at 119.8 percent from 116.7 percent in the same period last year.
Expenses for bad loans likewise declined by 15 percent to P66 million.
“We have managed to sustain the growth in our profitability since the pandemic, thanks to our robust core business and digital partnerships,” Gomez said.
Meanwhile, non-interest income ballooned by 81 percent to P1.3 billion due to higher trading and securities gains, foreign exchange gains, miscellaneous income and service charges.
Fees from other operating activities, including credit cards, remittances, trust and other branch-related transactions, also contributed to non-interest income growth.
