The Commercial Bank of Ceylon Group has posted a turnover of Rs 10,982 million in the three months ended March 31, 2009, up by 6.85 % from the corresponding 2008 period but profits eased.
The bank, its associates and subsidiaries reported group net profit after tax for the quarter at Rs 892.2 million, down from Rs. 1,025.2 million reported in the corresponding period in 2008.
In a statement, the bank said post-tax profit of the bank, without subsidiaries or associates, fell by 13.4% to Rs 866.2 million.
On the positive side, noteworthy growth was achieved in foreign exchange profit, from Rs 526.1 million to Rs 983.6 million, an increase of 86.9 % as a result of the depreciation of the rupee and profits from several forward exchange deals done during the period under review, it said.
Significant developments in the period reviewed included a suspension of interest on certain loans by the Bank, as a result of the prevailing economic situation. This resulted in net interest income declining from Rs 2,992 million in the first quarter of 2008 to Rs 2,942 million this year, although total interest income grew by more than 3 %, the statement said.
Interest expenses grew by 5.6 % due to an increase in volume of deposits and some deposits getting re-priced with a shift from low cost funds to high cost funds compared to the corresponding period last year. |
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