BII reports 72 percent increase in first quarter net profit

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/25/2008 12:15 PM  |  Business

Publicly listed Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) on Thursday reported a 72 percent increase in first quarter net profit from a year earlier.

The bank said in a media statement that its net profit in the three months ended March 31 climbed to Rp 198 billion (US$22 million), up from the Rp 115 billion it booked in the first quarter last year.

President director Henry Ho described the performance as "encouraging and in line with our expectations".

Among factors contributing to the profit rise was a 29 percent growth in new loans, which stood at Rp 34.1 trillion by March 31 this year from Rp 26.5 trillion in the same period in 2007.

The loan growth pushed up net interest income by 15 percent to Rp 715 billion.

While lending continued rising, the bank remained prudent in managing its lending performance, as evident in a decline in non-performing loans (NPLs) from 3.89 percent at the end of the first quarter last year to 2.2 percent, the statement said.

Bank Indonesia has set NPLs at a maximum of 5 percent.

Meanwhile, shareholders of Bank Permata and LippoBank -- which along with BII are among the country's top 10 banks -- approved in separate shareholder meetings the audit results of the 2007 financial performance of each bank.

Permata posted a full-year profit of Rp 736.8 billion last year, up by 62 percent from Rp 455.2 billion in the previous year.

As for LippoBank, its 2007 net profit rose 46 percent to Rp 738 billion from Rp 507 billion a year earlier.

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