NDB reports strong financial results in the first quarter 2012

NDB reported strong financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 and has made significant progress during the period.

The Banking Revenue for the quarter was Rs 2,064m, an increase of Rs 611m, or 42 percent over the corresponding period in 2011.

The Profit After Tax during the quarter increased by Rs 506m or 115 percent compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

The reported earnings included one off equity income of Rs 271m on the sale of its investment in a 100 percent owned subsidiary, NDB Investment Bank Ltd (NDBIB) and of the 5 percent direct holding in AVIVA NDB Insurance PLC, to its subsidiary Capital Development and Investment Company PLC (CDIC) in March 2012. NDB continues to position itself as the only Financial Services Group in the country, with subsidiaries and associates in Investment Banking (locally and regionally), Stock Broking and Wealth Management, which make up the Capital Markets cluster and Insurance.

This divestment to the Bank's 99.6 percent owned subsidiary CDIC was carried out as part of the overall Group's corporate restructuring exercise, with which, CDIC now positions itself as the diversified financial services investment arm of NDB Group.

Accordingly, these investments will complement CDIC's existing strategic investments in AVIVA NDB Insurance PLC and NDB AVIVA Wealth Management Ltd.

Chairman of NDB, Hemaka Amarasuriya, said, "We are excited about our first quarter results.

We were able to continue the strong momentum built in 2011, and will seek further growth opportunities for the Bank throughout 2012.

Our discipline in the execution of our strategies has produced excellent first quarter results. Our focused management on all of our banking operations is expected to deliver solid growth into the future and enhance shareholder value."

The Bank's Profit After Tax growth after excluding this one-off income shows an increase of 52 percent compared to the 1st quarter of 2011. The Basic earnings per share were Rs 17.96, an increase of 68 percent over the 1st quarter of 2011.

The NDB Group's Profit Attributable to Shareholders for the quarter increased by 19 percent over the prior period.