|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 15 May 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
COMBank's post-tax profit up 9.15% to Rs. 348.5 m in Q 1 The Commercial Bank Group comprising Sri Lanka's benchmark private sector bank, its subsidiaries and associate companies, has reported satisfactory growth in key performance indicators in the first quarter of 2005, despite the adverse effects on its exchange profits by the post-tsunami appreciation of the Rupee against the US Dollar. In results released to the Colombo Stock Exchange on Friday, May 6, the Group said its first quarter income of Rs. 3.271 billion represented a significant growth of 30.48 per cent or Rs. 764.1 million over the corresponding quarter of 2004. The Group's pre-tax profit of Rs. 581.3 million was up Rs. 76.3 million or 15.11 per cent, while post-tax profit grew 9.15 per cent to Rs. 348.5 million. Profit growth was adversely affected by an exchange loss of Rs. 44.8 million the Group was compelled to absorb in the period under review. In contrast, the Group posted an exchange profit of Rs. 170.1 million in the first quarter of the previous year. Commercial Bank's Senior Deputy General Manager (Finance and Planning) Ranjith Samaranayake said this unusual exchange loss was due to the rapid appreciation of the Sri Lanka Rupee against the US Dollar following the inflow of foreign funds to the country after the tsunami. The Sri Lanka Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar from Rs. 104.45 as
at December 31, 2004 to Rs. 99.70 by March 31, 2005. As a result, the Group
also sustained a translation loss of Rs. 253.3 million on the retained
profits kept in US Dollars in the bank's Off-shore Banking Centre as well as
in the conversion of the accounts of its Bangladesh operations into Sri
Lanka Rupees via US Dollars, Samaranayake said. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
