DFCC posts Group PAT of Rs. 3.2 bln in 2013-14, slightly lower than previous year
View(s):DFCC Bank – soon will be merged with the National Development Bank (NDB) as one entity – has announced a post-tax profit (PAT) Rs. 3.2 billion for the group for the year ended 31 March 2014, slightly lower than the previous year, according to its financial results released this week.
“Disregarding a one-off tax refund of Rs. 184 million included in the prior year profit after tax at the bank and group levels, the group posted a PAT of Rs. 3.2 billion under tough market conditions, marginally lower by 4 per cent compared with Rs. 3.4 billion reported in the previous year. However total group assets grew by 17 per cent to Rs. 177.3 billion,” the bank said in a media release.
Total income comprising of interest income and other income from the DFCC Banking Business (DBB) which includes DFCC Bank and its almost wholly owned subsidiary, by far the largest contributor to profits and asset growth of the group, was Rs. 20,214 million, up by 13.3 per cent over the previous financial year. Interest income of DBB was up by 14.8 per cent to Rs. 18,467 million.
DFCC’s new Chairman Royle Jansz, noted in his message that, “DFCC’s governing mandate has always been to provide long term financing to customers, which was unavailable to them elsewhere, to grow their business, not thinking solely about profitability, but of the benefit such businesses would bring to the economy of the country as a whole. This strategy involved more risk than would normally be acceptable to commercial banks in the past, and has sometimes seen us burning our fingers, but has, in the vast majority, provided DFCC with many satisfied and lifelong customers”.
The main thrust of DFCC’s medium term strategic plan is to capitalise on financing the direct and spin off business opportunities arising from the Government’s Five+1 Hub strategy. DFCC’s leadership in key sectors such as Green energy and Tourism will underpin its capabilities in this respect. “Skills and resources that have been honed over nearly 60 years of project financing will continue to hold us in good stead in our drive to play a great innings,”’ said Chief Executive Arjun Fernando.
Mr. Fernando, commenting on the proposed merger of NDB and DFCC, said, “I prefer to view it as the next phase of DFCC’s evolution where the bank progresses to greater heights in a new form that is stronger, more dynamic and more enduring. In fact, consolidation will materialise the full value of DFCC’s constituents; i.e. its investments, customer base, project financing franchise, human capital, IT systems and so on. This process can only benefit all of DFCC’s stakeholders as the outcome will be an entity whose value is greater than the sum of all its individual parts”.