Landbank Q1 Net Income up 15% to P4.14B

The Land Bank of the Philippines is on track towards steady growth this year as its net income for the first quarter expanded to P4.14 billion, 15 percent higher than the P3.6 billion registered in March 2015. This is also 23 percent higher than the year-to-date target of P3.38 billion.

LANDBANK President and CEO Gilda E. Pico said the increase in income was mainly buoyed by the increase in its loan portfolio amid conservative growth in income from investments. Interest income on loans jumped 20 percent as the Bank’s gross loan portfolio grew to P464.8 billion from P398 billion in March 2015.

“We are well-positioned for sustained growth this year as we continue to boost revenue and manage expenses in order to further drive support to our priority sectors, foremost to farmers and fishers, microenterprises and SMEs, agribusiness and other development players,” Pico said.

Return on equity for the first quarter was at a high 17.03 percent while net interest margin stood at 3.14 percent.

The Bank’s total assets also expanded significantly by 22 percent to P1.28 trillion from P1.05 trillion in March 2015. Total deposits rose to P1.14 trillion, up 25 percent from 911.4 billion in the same period last year while capital expanded by a hefty 24 percent to P90.12 billion.

LANDBANK is the only Bank present in all of the country’s provinces with a nationwide network of 361 branches and 1,526 ATMs as of March 2016. These are complemented by 24 Other Banking Offices across the country. It also remains the biggest credit provider to small farmers and fishers, local government units, and is the biggest lender to microenterprises and SMEs among government financial institutions.

LANDBANK was recently named “Asian Bank of the Year” at the Smart Awards Asia 2016 in Singapore for its financial inclusion efforts and programs in support of farmers, agri-aqua businesses, and MSMEs.