DFCC Group posts Rs 3.2b PAT

The DFCC Bank Group recorded a profit after tax of Rs. 3.2 billion for the year ended March 31, 2014 according to its Annual Report released last week.

Disregarding a one-off tax refund of Rs. 184 million included in the previous year's profit after tax at the Bank and Group levels, the Group posted a PAT of Rs. 3,250 million under tough market conditions, marginally lower by 4% compared with Rs. 3,390 million reported in the previous year.

Total Group assets grew by 17% to Rs. 177,333 million.

DFCC Bank, which approaches its sixtieth year, has over the years posted a consistent record of success by judiciously managing its business and expanding through a series of strategic acquisitions, alliances and partnerships.DFCC is one of the largest capitalised companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange valued at Rs. 38,148 million.

Total income comprising interest income and other income from the DFCC Banking Business (DBB) which includes DFCC Bank and its almost wholly owned subsidiary, by far the largest contributor to profits and asset growth of the Group, was Rs. 20,214 million, an increase of 13.3% over Rs. 17,837 million of the previous financial year. Interest income of DBB was up by 14.8% to Rs. 18,467 million.

DFCC's new Chairman Royle Jansz said, "DFCC's governing mandate has always been to provide long-term financing to customers, which was not available to them elsewhere, to grow their business, not thinking solely about profitability, but of the benefits such businesses would bring to the economy of the country."

"This strategy involved more risk than would normally be acceptable to commercial banks in the past and has sometimes seen us burning our fingers, but has provided DFCC with many satisfied and life-long customers," he said.