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| Sunday, 11 August 2002 |
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Seylan Merchant Bank reports turnaround The Seylan Merchant Bank (SMB) Group has reported profits in the first half of 2002 turning around the losses of the corresponding period last year. The SMB Group reported a pre-tax profit of Rs. 6.7 million, a growth of 117 per cent from a loss of Rs. 39 million in 2001. Gross income grew 53 percent to Rs. 248 million. Seylan Merchant Bank reported a pre-tax profit of Rs. 826,500, a growth of 102 per cent compared to a loss of Rs. 41 million in the first half of 2001 and gross income of Rs. 203 million, a 40 per cent growth. Net interest income growth achieved by the Group and the Bank was a noteworthy feature of this performance, SMB's Director and General Manager, Rohan Senanayake said. The Group's net interest income grew from a negative income of Rs. 7.3 million to a positive income of Rs. 28 million and the Bank's net interest income grew to Rs. 15 million from a loss of Rs. 4.6 million in the first half of 2001. Commenting on these results, Mr. Senanayake said: "An increase in productivity and strategic changes made by the bank have helped it maintain the profitable trend begun in the first quarter of 2002. If the interest rates in the country remain stable, we are confident that we can maintain this level of performance throughout the year." He said an improved level of IT, intense training programme to develop level of productivity and quality of sales people and branching out to the rural areas of the country have played a significant role in SMB achieving these results. A member of Ceylinco Consolidated, Seylan Merchant Bank commenced operations in October 1992 as a public limited liability company. The bank recently launched Fortune 2002, a campaign to boost its investments and broadbase its customer base. A mobile banking unit branded Thawalama was also launched to extend the reach of SMB's banking facilities to the rural areas of the country, SMB's subsidiaries include Seylon Merchant Leasing Limited, SMB Money Brokers (Pvt) Ltd., and SMB Real Estate Ltd. |
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