By Honey M. Reyes, Reporter,
with Bloomberg
THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the country's most profitable lender, said it will pay a record P2.7 billion in special dividends this year.
The special payout, equivalent to P1 a share, is in addition to the P1.65 a share regular dividend the Makati City-based bank distributed earlier this year.
Higher dividend payment will help boost investors’ demand for BPI shares, which have gained 23 percent this year. The stock in May climbed to its highest since July 8, 1999.
This year’s special dividend tops the extra 83.33 centavos a share that BPI distributed in 2005 and it’s the lender’s biggest special payout, according to data compiled by Bloomberg since 1987.
Shares of BPI rose 1.8 percent to P56 at the noon close of trading in Manila. Ayala Corp., its parent company, added 2.1 percent to P492.50, its biggest gain in nine days.
In a separate report, BPI has agreed to sell its 100 percent stake in Far East Bank (FEB) Savings to JTKC Equities Inc., a company which has investments in real-estate, among others.
Although the transaction’s value was not disclosed by the Philippines’ second largest lender, the deal involved the sale of the remaining branch left over from the merger of BPI with FEB and Trust Co. in 2000.
“The sale is still subject to approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” BPI said in its disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
JTKC is a major shareholder in companies involved in a wide range of industries, ranging from logistics to finance, real estate, manufacturing and hotel and resort properties.
Besides its investments in well-known brands such as the MansionGroup and Discovery Suites, JKTC has been actively involved in real estate, developing, managing and operating first-class serviced apartments.
BPI earned P4.6 billion for the first six months.
Revenues grew at the same pace, fueled by a 15-percent growth in noninterest income derived from foreign exchange and securities trading gains, rental income, asset management and trust fees.
Operating expenses increased by 13-percent related mainly to the Prudential Bank business as manpower and premises costs increased by 18 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Revenue growth combined with lower impairment losses offset the increase in operating expenses.
BPI’s total assets reached P540 billion, with deposits up 19 percent to P435 billion.
Net loans expanded by 7 percent to P230 billion even after the sale of nonperforming loans in July 2005 and May 2006.
The bank’s bad debt ratio improved to 6.1 percent, from 6.8 percent at year-end 2005 and remains below industry average as of end-May of 7.36 percent.
Business Mirror
October 20, 2006
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/comp01.php
No comments:
Post a Comment