Union Bank sees strong growth in profit to Rs.782 mn in 2017
View(s):The Union Bank, despite the volatile macro environment, says it performed exceptionally well in 2017 resulting in a 35.6 per cent increase in profits from operating activities to Rs. 782 million against Rs. 577 million in 2016.
Pre-tax profit was Rs. 534 million, up by 23 per cent from 2016. Gross income of the bank improved by 39.7 per cent to Rs. 11,938 million with income growth mainly driven by core banking operations.
The bank’s deposit mobilisation strategies yielded good results with the deposit base standing at Rs. 70,326 million, a rise of 35.7 per cent from 2016. “Much of this growth was steered by retail fixed deposit growth of Rs. 13,284 Mn (up 58.7 per cent) over the previous year” the release added.
Total taxes for 2017 were Rs. 377 million, an 86.6 per cent increase compared to 2016. “Increase in VAT and NBT on financial services was due to the increase in VAT rate to 15 per cent from 11 per cent. Increase in corporate tax was due to the increase in the taxable income as a proportion in comparison to 2016,” the release said.
Commenting on the performance of the bank, Director/CEO Indrajit Wickramasinghe said that the year 2017 ended a period of transformation and the implementation of a 3-year strategic plan that resulted in significant enhancements to the business model resulting in transformational growth in the bank’s performance during these years”.