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BOV Chairman, Roderick Chalmers announced that the Bank of Valletta Group has registered Lm10.1 million profit before tax for the six-month period ended on 31st March 2005.
The Board of Directors last week approved the Bank’s Half Yearly Report for the period October 2004 to March 2005, and declared an interim dividend of 7.5 cents per share, gross of tax, an increase of 25% on the interim dividend of 6.0 cents per share declared last year.
Chalmers stated: "These positive results demonstrate the resilience of the core businesses of Bank of Valletta. The faster rate of growth in non-interest income reflects the Group's strategic priority towards diversification of its sources of revenue”.
Focusing on the financial results just announced, Chalmers explained that during the first half of the current financial year, profit before tax rose by 26.2% when compared to the corresponding profit figure of Lm8.1 million registered for the same period last year. Return on equity rose from 12.6% in March 2004 to 15.4%.
The BOV Group’s strategy to focus on both income generation and cost containment yielded the desired results, and the core sources of income increased at a higher rate than costs. This is evidenced by the cost income ratio which improved from 50.1% in March 2004 to 47.5% in March 2005. Operating income grew by 13.5%, from Lm27.1million in March 2004 to Lm30.8 million. The Group performed well both in terms of interest margin, which increased by Lm1.6 million to Lm20.1 million (8.9% ) as well as in non-interest income. The latter increased by Lm2.0 million to Lm 10.7 million (23.5%). Operating profit for the six months totalled Lm9 million, an increase of 30% on the Lm6.9 million recorded to March 2004. Profits from associates, at Lm1.1 million, are at the same level as last year. Costs increased by 7.1%, arising mainly from increased personnel and depreciation charges.
The Chairman announced that the new BOV Centre in Sta. Venera is now nearing completion and the first departments are expected to start moving into this modern, state of the art building over the coming weeks. “Having most of the Bank’s departments under one roof will enhance communication and ensure a more efficient flow in the Bank’s operations”, said Chalmers. |
