By MALUM NALU
Bank South Pacific has announced an after tax net profit of K356 million for 2011, an increase of 26% on the after tax net profit of K283 million reported in 2010, The National reports.
BSP chairman Kostas Constantinou said in the bank’s 2011 financial report that the results in 2011 reflected steady net growth on a group basis.
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| Constantinou…profit reflects strong PNG economy |
“Profits are up by more than 10%, and the balance sheet has grown by K1, 654 million (K1.654 billion),” he said,
“The results are dominated by BSP’s continuing strong performance in PNG.
“Whilst that performance has been driven by that economy’s very strong growth in the 2011 fiscal year, it has been achieved under some challenging circumstances.
“Globally, 2011 has seen Europe continue to grapple with an intractable debt crisis, popular but violent uprisings in the Middle East, natural disasters with devastating consequences around the world, and credit downgrades led by the U.S.
“In 2011, politics, nature, and the human spirit have held sway over earnings, interest rates, and capital markets, driving volatility in stocks, commodities, bonds and currencies.
“In our region, Asian demand for natural resources continues to fuel growth in the economies of natural resource providers including PNG.”
BSP’s achievements in 2011 included:
· Total assets of K11.7 billion, up K1.7 billion from 2010 levels;
· Dividend payments totalling K224 million were made to shareholders comprising K149 million final dividend for 2010 (at 3.13 toea per share) and K73.7 million interim dividend for 2011 at 15.4 toea per share;
· Regulatory capital ratios maintained at levels complying with the regulator’s definition of “well capitalised”;
· Return on equity of 28.7%, whilst maintaining investments in the company modernisation programme, with key projects being delivered in the areas of customer segmentation and product development, systems operations, electronic banking, and process simplification;
· A first-of-its-kind major customer acquisition campaign, “Green Gold”, which introduced about 150,000 new customers to BSP;
· Net growth in customer deposits of K2,261 million to K9,446 million with market share of 51.84% in NG; and total group deposits at K9,366 million;
· Loans and advances increased by net K959 million to K4,236 million with market share at 51.4% in PNG; total gross loans of the group is K4,301 million;
· Introduction of BSP’s international class BSP First customer lounge at Harbour City and a full-service branch at Vision City, in Port Moresby;
· Continued roll out of BSP Rural branches, and rural customer acquisition initiatives;
· Opening of a new branch at Lautoka in Fiji, and the transfer of the Solomon Islands head office at Point Cruz and the Mud Alley branch to the modern Heritage Park development in Honiara; and
· Continued commitment to community-oriented activities resulting in 70 local community projects delivered by bank staff in PNG, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, worth in excess of K1.250 million.