HNB’s post-tax profit Rs. 11.8 bln, tax bill Rs. 8 bln
View(s):Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) continued its growth momentum to post a group profit before VAT and NBT of Rs. 20.7 billion for the nine months ending September 2017. Pre-tax profit and post-tax profit improved to Rs. 16.8 billion and Rs. 11.8 billion, respectively for the same 9-month period while group assets crossed Rs 1 trillion.
In a media statement, the bank said interest income grew by 33.5 per cent year on year (yoy) supported by a 14.9 per cent yoy growth in advances.
An increase in swap rates as well as the volume of swaps led to the ‘trading loss’ increasing to Rs. 2.8 billion during the first nine months of 2017 compared to a loss of Rs. 1.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. “However the corresponding increase from position revaluations contributed to a 29.5 per cent rise in ‘other operating income’ to Rs. 2.8 billion from Rs. 2.1 billion in 2016,” the statement added.
The upward revision in VAT to 15 per cent from 11 per cent in 2016 led to an increase of 29.6 per cent in VAT and NBT charges for the period.
Commenting on the performance, MD/CEO of HNB Jonathan Alles, stated that “HNB continues to deliver sound performance, notwithstanding the challenging conditions. We strongly believe that HNB is very well positioned to capture the growth opportunities as Sri Lanka envisions to be the hub in the Indian ocean and we stay committed to enhance value to all our stakeholders in this journey”.