Sanasa Development Bank profits soar by 100 % in 2014
View(s):SANASA Development Bank PLC (SDB) said on Wednesday that it recorded an ‘outstanding performance’ for the financial year ending December 2014 with profits up by 103 per cent.
In a media statement, the development bank said that last quarter profits also rose sharply by 450 per cent. “With these growth rates, SDB recorded a profit after tax of Rs. 504 million during 2014,” the bank said.
Other performance indicators also reflected significant increases indicating a definite growth trend in the bank’s performance in the year ending 2014. The Total Interest Income grew by 10 per cent on a Y-O-Y basis.
The bank’s net fee and commission income grew by 35 per cent from Rs. 120 million in 2013 to Rs. 162 million in 2014, primarily due to the increase in the overall asset base of the bank.
As a strategic move, SANASA divested its equity investment in Peoples Leasing and Finance PLC last year.
The SDB, which started its business in 1997, now has a network of 82 branches and is preparing for the next level of banking which is expanding services to gear itself to cater to the lower end of the SME sector as well.
Bank deposits grew from Rs. 23 billion in 2013 to Rs. 30 billion in 2014 with two new attractive loan products targetting government pensioners and ex-service personnel in second half of 2014 contributing to the growth in the loan portfolio.
Commenting on the success in 2014, SDB CEO Nimal C. Hapuarachchi added, “Over the years, we have been able to support a large number of individuals, households and communities across the country, to empower themselves from the grassroots level to a sustainable level of growth in the medium and long term through responsible financing”. Bank Chairperson M.S. Kiriwandeniya said, “While we are gearing ourselves to step into the next level of service in the SME sector we are also constantly keeping our pulse on the needs of our core clientele and improvising products to suit their needs and demands.”