Asia United Bank (AUB) solidified its position as the country’s fastest-growing publicly listed universal bankafter posting a consolidated net income of P1.3 billion in the first three months of 2022, 78.8 percent higher than P736.0 million in the same period in 2021.
“Our financial performance was aided by the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the continuous rollout of vaccines and booster shots by the government, and the overall improvement in the business climate,” said AUB President Manuel A. Gomez.
“We expect 2022 to be a better year if we continue our hard work, agility to respond to evolving challenges in our operating environment, and vigilance against the emerging variants of COVID-19.”
The group’s net income translated to a Return on Assets of 1.7 percent and Return on Equity of 14.3 percent versus year-ago ratios of 1.0 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Bank and its three subsidiaries posted a consolidated total operating income of P3.3 billion, 15.7 percent higher than year-ago’s P2.9 billion.
Total assets remained flat at P313.9 billion during the period, as loans and receivables stood at P167.4 billion in the first quarter, 2.6 percent higher versus the same period last year. Low-cost deposits (CASA) grew by 13.1 percent to P216 billion versus P190.9 billion, year-on-year, accounting for 83.4 percent of total deposits of P258.9 billion.
Amidst the increasing cost of doing business and improving operational efficiency, AUB managed to keep a lid on its total operating expenses, which fell by 12.2 percent to P1.7 billion during the period.
This also reflected lower loan loss provision after setting aside a significant buffer in 2020 to cover the credit risk brought about by the pandemic.
The group continued to manage cost effectively with a lower-than-industry cost-to-income ratio of 41.7 percent for the first quarter of 2022, an improvement from 42.4 percent for full-year 2021.
Thanks to improving business and consumer confidence that gave its core business a boost, the bank was also able to breach its end-2021 target of P4 billion, with a consolidated net income of P4.1 billion in 2021, 34 percent higher than P3.0 billion in end-2020.
This made AUB inch closer to its pre-pandemic performance of P4.4 billion in 2019.
The group’s total operating income decreased by 14 percent to P13.0 billion due mainly to the P2.4-billion decrease in gains on trading and securities and sale of investment securities at amortized cost. This translated to a net interest margin ratio of 3.6 percent.
The group’s net income for end-2021 translated to a Return on Assets of 1.3 percent and a Return on Equity of 11.1 percent coming from year-ago’s 1.0 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.
While overall consumer confidence remained low, AUB was able to recover from its 2020 performance and posted a 3 percent growth in total loans and receivables, to P173.8 billion in 2021from P168.8 billion in 2020. CASA deposits, however, bounced back much stronger, rising 20 percent to P218.86 billion from P182.17 billion, year-on-year, and was among the highest growth in the industry.
“With the economy starting to open up, we expect credit quality to improve as well as better opportunities for deposit taking and lending. However, we continue to be watchful of developments such as the geopolitical tension in Europe, the rising inflation in the US, as well as the outcome of our national elections, which could affect the overall outlook on the Philippines,” Gomez said.
