BoC 2017 profits soar to highest in the industry
View(s):Bank of Ceylon (BoC), with 78 years of successful banking, saw another record year in 2017 with pre-tax profit reaching Rs.30.3 billion, up 8 per cent from 2016, the highest in the industry
This is after adjusting the one off gain recorded in 2016 (disposal of Mireka Capital Lanka Pvt Ltd). Profit after tax for the year stood at Rs.21.3 billion, BoC General Manager Senarath Bandara said in a media release issued by the bank.
Total operating income grew by 3 per cent to Rs. 74.3 billion mark with net interest income contributing 78 per cent of the total operating income.
The statement said that the increase in policy rates last year saw market interest rates move further upward and the high interest rate regime prevailed throughout the year except for the latter part of the year in which interest rates recorded a slight slowdown.
“Whilst, the increasing trend in market interest rates has resulted in an increase in both interest income and expenses, the net interest margin of the bank has only eased by 10 bsp (basis points) over the previous year due to its effective management of cost of funding.”
In the midst of a subdued performance reported from the trade sector, the bank reported a growth of its net fee and commission income due to the timely and meticulous strategies it has adopted to diversify their avenues of revenue.
The statement noted that during the year the economy was performing below the expected level and the bank also had to absorb the impact of prolonged drought which prevailed in the northern part of the island.
Income tax, VAT, NBT and dividend which constitute the bank’s value to the Government coffers amounted to Rs. 28.6 billion during the period under review, which is 76 per cent of the profit before financial VAT, NBT and taxation.
Loans and advances reached Rs. 1.2 trillion and in doing so has pushed the assets base to Rs. 1.95 trillion bringing BoC closer to another significant milestone- the Rs 2 trillion mark, the statement said.
BoC Chairman Ronald C. Perera, PC, in his comments in the annual report said that the greatest strength behind ending 2017 with high note was the well experienced and knowledgeable staff strength of 7,500 “dedicatedly working towards implementing the meticulous and timely strategies executed by the management”.
He also stressed the importance the bank has placed on enhancing the customer centricity in all avenues of the bank for a better customer experience.
“Although we are moving fast towards digitally enabled banking culture, the weightage we have placed on improving the quality of human touch has never been compromised. We believe the human factor, yet has much more to do with customer care and tangibility,” he further stressed.