Pan Asia Bank PAT hits Rs.1b mark

Sri Lanka's fastest growing commercial bank, Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC saw its post tax profit for the year ended December 31, 2015 (FY'15) increasing by as much as 151% to surpass the key milestone of achieving a billion rupee profit.

The bank closed the year with a post tax profit of Rs.1.04 billion well supported by the above average growth in gross loans and advances, higher margins and improved efficiency. The earnings per share has risen to Rs. 3.53 from Rs.1.41 a year ago.

Meanwhile for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 (4Q'15) the bank has increased its after tax profit by as much as 110% to Rs. 289.6 million.

The bank has grown its net loans and receivables by as much as 40% or Rs. 23.9 billion during the year to Rs.84.2 billion. This is by far the highest growth in net loans and advances recorded by a licensed commercial bank in 2015.

This is also above the economy's private sector credit growth of 24% for the first eleven months.

Commenting on the results in 2015, the bank's Director and Chief Executive Officer Dimantha Seneviratne said the bank was able to record this exceptional performance due to proactive decisions and effective execution of strategies capitalizing on the opportunities in the macro-economy while managing the risks. "This performance reflects the immense potential of Pan Asia Bank and our contribution to the economy where we have disbursed our funds in to all sectors and regions in the country.

Our Retail, SME and Corporate segments reached out to all areas of the country uplifting many industries and living standards of the people whilst creating financial inclusion," he added. At a time when the banking sector Return on Equity (RoE) comes under pressure due to narrowing margins, Pan Asia Bank has continuously driven its return to its share holders up to 19.94% by the end of FY 2015, virtually doubling the RoE from 9.81% in December 2014. The bank's RoE is now amongst the highest in the industry and beyond.

The bank has made tremendous progress in its core-banking performance as its fourth quarter Net Interest Income (NII) has risen by 23% to Rs.1.04 billion and the entire year's NII increased by 45% to Rs.3.96 billion..

Despite the pressure on banking sector margins, Pan Asia Bank has expanded its net interest margin to 4.34% from 3.82% in December 2014 due to prudent re-pricing and proactive assets and liability management.

In order to support its lending drive, the bank raised Rs.4 billion in debentures at very competitive rates which was oversubscribed on the opening day itself, demonstrating the strong confidence placed by investors on the bank's current and future strategies. The non-interest income of the bank showed continuous growth as a result of the concerted effort towards diversifying the income sources. In addition to generating new relationships, there was increased contribution from trade finance and other fee and commission income.As a result, the bank's non-interest incomes rose by a strong 29.9% to Rs.1.67 billion during FY 2015.

Overall, the bank's total operating income i.e NII and non-interest income increased by 40% to Rs.5.63 billion during the financial year.