HNB’s post-tax profit up nearly 50% YoY in 1stH 2016
View(s):HNB’s post-tax profit surged by 48.6 per cent to Rs. 6.4 billion in the latest half-yearly (January-June 2016) performance with all other statistics showing similar growth. The group pre-tax profit was up at Rs. 10 billion while the bank pre-tax was up 50 per cent to Rs. 9.1 billion. Interest income grew by 34.5 per cent YoY to Rs. 33.5 billion, driven primarily by the 23 per cent increase in the loan book. The bank’s operating expenses increased by 11.9 per cent largely owing to revisions effected through the collective agreements.
Commenting on HNB’s performance, MD/CEO of HNB, Jonathan Alles stated that “This exceptional performance is attributed to the unwavering commitment of my high performance team and I am truly grateful to each and every member of Team HNB for espousing transformational change. Our continuous investments in developing world class talent, adopting state of the art technology, best in class systems and processes as well as our focus on building lasting bonds with our customers will enable us to reach greater heights in the near future”. HNB says it is the first local bank in Sri Lanka to receive an international rating on par with the sovereign from Moody’s Investor Services while maintaining a national long term rating of AA – (lka) from Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd.