Commercial Bank says 6-month PBT surpasses Rs. 6 bln mark
View(s):Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC said this week it posted profit before tax of Rs 6.474 billion and net profit after tax of Rs 4.479 billion for the first half of 2014, ‘despite shrinking margins’.
In a media release, the bank reported a 9.39 per cent improvement in its total operating income of Rs 17.698 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2014, through higher business volumes coupled with a notable increase in recoveries, “despite there being a drop in foreign exchange income which was largely attributable to the appreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee against the US Dollar.
Gross income for the first six months of 2014 grew by 1.9 per cent to reach Rs. 35.374 billion, the bank said.
“Bank profit before financial VAT and NBT was up 1.92 per cent to Rs. 7.587 billion. The imposition of Nation Building Tax (NBT) from 1st January 2014 resulted in the bank’s NBT for the six months amounting to Rs 159 million.
Financial VAT and NBT together totalled Rs 1.113 billion for the first half 2014, an increase of 18.88 per cent. These factors contributed to the marginal drop in the profit before tax of Rs 6.474 billion for the period under review. However, the profit after tax of Rs 4.479 billion reflected an increase of Rs 7.5 million,” the statement said.