Petrocommerce reports 1H RAS net profit of Rub 2.2 bln

Petrocommerce announced its numbers for the first half of 2014. In January — June 2014 the lender earned Rub 2.2 bln in net profit under RAS.

The bank’s interest income jumped 23% y-o-y to Rub 10.3 bln in the first half of 2014. The bank’s interest income increased primarily on higher interest income from clients’ lending, up 16% to Rub 8.7 bln. Meanwhile, interest income from factoring operations climbed 37% to Rub 1 bln, interest income from SME lending soared 223% to Rub 800 mln and that from retail lending grew 36% to Rub 2.1 bln.

The lender’s net interest income rose 38% to Rub 3.6 bln. The bank’s net commission income also increased, 2% to Rub 800 mln. Measures taken to improve the bank’s operating efficiency yielded positive results, with general and administrative costs cut by 11% y-o-y to Rub 3.4 bln. Since the beginning of the year the bank’s net assets have grown 8% to Rub 256 bln. While investing more in liquid instruments (securities), lending remained one of the primary growth drivers for the bank’s assets in the first half of 2014. Specifically, the SME lending portfolio expanded nearly 30% (market average indicators equal 4%) to Rub 12.6 bln.

The bank’s corporate credit portfolio grew 5%. The bank’s retail credit portfolio jumped to Rub 28.8 bln. High growth rates in the bank’s retail segment are seen in mortgage lending, credit cards and consumer lending (up 30%, 16% and 10%, respectively). Sterling underwriting, operations with the key client segment and monitoring of the current market conditions allowed the bank to reduce the portion of overdue loans in its credit portfolio to 8.3% in January — June 2014. Meanwhile, the debt coverage ratio equaled 10.7%.

One of the bank’s substantial competitive advantages is a stable clientele. As of July 1, 2014 the money deposited by the corporate clients at the bank amounted to Rub 79.3 bln, up 24% YTD. Funds held by retail clients equal Rub 71 bln, down 5% during the reporting period, i.e. in line with the overall market trend.

Petrocommerce continues its efforts to boost its capitalization and enhance operating efficiency, including by cutting costs and targeting high-yield segments of the market," Petrocommerce finance director Elena Korekhova pointed out.