NDB Bank records Rs 1.6b profit after tax

National Development Bank PLC (the Bank) concluded the first quarter of 2015, posting a Profit After tax (PAT) of Rs. 1,558 million.

The PAT translates to a 30% growth compared to the first quarter of 2014, alluding, promising performance for the year ahead, and affirming the 'Best Bank in Sri Lanka' status conferred on NDB by the prestigious Global Finance Magazine of USA.

The Bank's Total Operating Income before impairment charges for loans and other losses and operating expenses grew by 18% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 3,631 million in the first quarter of 2015. This commendable growth was supported by a Net Interest Income (NII) growth of 7% and Net Fee and Commission Income growth of 8% over the first quarter of 2014.

The Bank's net gains from its total investment portfolio declined by 49%, a rupee equivalent of Rs. 284 million as compared to the previous year, primarily due to the higher marked-to-market profit realised from the portfolio in the first quarter of 2014.

Total assets of the Group reached Rs. 270 billion at the end of the first quarter in 2015. The Bank's loans and receivables to customers were Rs. 175 billion. Loans and receivables to customers recorded only a marginal increase over the portfolio at December 31, 2014.

However, loans and receivables recorded a YoY growth of 21% as compared with March 2014.Customer deposits of the Bank grew by 7% from December 31, 2014 to reach Rs. 163 billion. The YoY change of the customer deposits was 20%.

The total capital base of the Bank as at March 31, 2015 was Rs. 29,406 million, while the same at the Group level was Rs. 36,648 million. Core capital and total capital adequacy ratios of the Bank were 10.11% and 14.86%, while the same ratios for the Group were 12.70% and 17.56%.

Chief Executive Officer, NDB, Rajendra Theagarajah said that NDB is committed to adding tangible value to its stakeholders through excellent financial performance. The CEO also mentioned that the Bank has embarked on an aggressive growth trajectory to gain significant and systemically important market share in the Sri Lankan banking and financial services sector.