The net profit of ASIA UNITED Bank Corp. (AUB) increased in the first quarter of 2022, supported mainly by lower provisions for loan losses and improved operating income.
The bank’s net proIft soared 78.8% to 1.3 billion pesos between January and March, from 736 million pesos a year earlier, it said in a statement. Ifling with the local stock market on Thursday.
This translated into a return on assets of 1.7%, while the return on equity was 14.3%.
“Our financial performance has been helped by the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the continued deployment of government vaccines and recalls, and the overall improvement in the business climate,” said AUB Chairman Manuel A. Gomez, in a statement.
AUB posted net profit of 4.1 billion pesos in 2021, beating its 4 billion peso target for the year and 34% higher than the 3 billion pesos it posted in 2020 However, this was still lower than the 4.4 billion pesos he earned in 2019 before the pandemic.
Its net income at the end of 2021 reflects a return on assets of 1.3% compared to 1.04% in 2020, while the return on equity improved to 11.1% compared to 8.9%.
For the first quarter of 2022, total operating income for AUB and its three subsidiaries increased 15.7% to 3.3 billion pesos from 2.9 billion pesos a year ago.
Meanwhile, total operating expenses fell 12.2% to 1.7 billion pesos.
“This too reflreduced the provision for loan losses after havingIfI can’tffer in 2020 to cover the credit risk caused by the pandemic,” the AUB said.
The bank’s assets were flto 313.9 billion pula at the end of March. Loans and receivables increased by 2.6% to reach 167.4 billion pesos compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, total deposits with the bank fell 0.8% to 258.9 billion pesos in the first quarter, from 261 billion pesos a year earlier, as consumers remained cautious and turned to investments. at higher yield.
Mr. Gomez said they were optimistic that the quality of the bank’s assets would improve as the economy began to recover. It will also boost deposits and their lending activities, he added.
“However, we remain alert to developments such as geopolitical tension in Europe, rising inflation in the United States, as well as the outcome of our national elections, which could affect the overall outlook for the Philippines,” Mr. Gomez. .
Shares of AUB closed at P44.10 each on Thursday, gaining 30 centavos or 0.68% from the previous day’s close. — Luz Wendy T. Noble