DFCC’s name change to DFCC Bank Plc now legal
View(s):The DFCC Bank will be renamed DFCC Bank PLC under amendments to the DFCC Act approved by parliament and will continue to carry on its business as a licensed specialised bank without any interruption, the bank said this week.
“As regards the proposed merger with NDB, discussions between the institutions are well underway with facilitation from the Boston Consulting Group,” said Group CEO Arjun Fernando in a statement announcing the bank’s first half 2014 results.
The DFCC Group reported consolidated post tax profit of Rs. 2,071million for the 6 months ended 30th September, 2014 compared with Rs. 1,222 million during the previous period.
This growth of 70 per cent was underpinned by the strong performance of the group’s banking business (a composite of DFCC Bank, a specialised bank, and its 99 per cent owned subsidiary, DFCC Vardhana Bank, a commercial bank).
The stand alone operating profit before taxes of the group’s banking business was Rs. 2,996 million and profit after tax was Rs. 2,002 million, against Rs. 1,962 million and Rs. 1,180 million respectively in the previous period. The other members of the DFCC Group, which includes the joint venture investment bank, Acuity Partners (Pvt) Ltd collectively contributed Rs. 126 million to PAT compared with Rs. 104 million in the previous period – a growth of 21 per cent. DFCC Bank’s performance also benefited from the performance of the Colombo stock market. The impact of the stock market on the value of the listed shares in DFCC Bank’s equity portfolio is recognised by the fair value changes representing unrealized gains or losses in other comprehensive income. During the period ended 30 September 2014, due to the share market appreciation there was a fair value gain of Rs. 4,679 million compared to the fair value gain of Rs. 569 million in the previous comparable period.
At the same time, capitalizing on the upward momentum in the Colombo stock market, DFCC Bank divested some of its mature equity holdings and realised a capital gain of Rs. 300 million, the bank’s media release said.