PNB income up 11% in first half

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Bank’s (PNB) net income grew by 11% year on year to P10.3 billion in the first half on the back of its core businesses and amid “challenges” in the operating environment, it said on Monday.

“PNB’s performance has been on an upward trajectory since the start of the year and we attribute this to the sound execution of our strategies and growth initiatives,” PNB

President Florido P. Casuela said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

“The stronger focus and collaboration of our business groups have enabled us to serve a broader part of the commercial lending and consumer finance segments. We are happy to help these segments grow and it is made more meaningful by the fact that we just marked our 108^th founding anniversary as a financial institution that helps Filipinos reach their aspirations,” Mr. Casuela said.

The bank’s financial statement was unavailable as of press time.

PNB’s net interest income went up by 11% year on year in the first semester as its interest earnings rose by 17%, driven by its loan portfolio and treasury assets amid high rates and increased volume.

“Likewise, the bank was able to temper the impact of higher interest expense on deposits by deploying these deposits to assets with better yields,” it said.

As a result, PNB’s net interest margin improved to 4.37% at end-June from 4.14% a year prior.

Meanwhile, the bank’s other operating income declined by 47.73% to P2.3 billion in the first half from P4.4 billion a year prior in the absence of a one-off gain from the sale of properties realized in the same period in 2023.

On the other hand, operating expenses went down by 4% to P14.3 billion “due to prudent spending despite the continued business growth,” PNB said.

It set aside credit provisions worth P2.1 billion in the period, it added.

PNB’s consolidated assets stood at P1.26 trillion at end-June, up by 4% from the end-2023 level, amid increased loans and treasury assets.

“With its income for the period, the bank augmented its total equity by 6%, translating to an improvement in the bank’s capital adequacy ratio to 17.0% and common equity Tier 1 ratio to 16.2%,” the listed lender said.

PNB’s shares dropped by 25 centavos or 1.02% to close at P24.15 each on Monday. — A.M.C. Sy