First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) saw its net income last year surge 1.5 times from a year earlier thanks to its banking arm’s strong loans business.
Net profit last year expanded to NT$6.98 billion (US$238 million), or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.09, compared with NT$2.69 billion, or EPS of NT$0.44, in 2009, according to a company statement.
Net revenue rose 10 percent to NT$32.5 billion last year, the financial services provider said.
First Financial’s banking unit, First Commercial Bank (第一商業銀行), which accounted for more than 90 percent of its total net profit, reported a net income of NT$6.3 billion last year, up 209 percent from NT$2.05 billion a year ago.
First Bank’s total loans rose 14.4 percent to NT$1.25 trillion last year — mainly from loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) — from NT$1.09 trillion in 2009, First Financial said.
Corporate loans rose 23.7 percent last year, with those to SMEs climbing 27.7 percent.
Corporate loans are forecast to rise by up to 11 percent this year, again driven by robust SME demand, Annie Lee (李淑玲), an investor relations executive, said during a teleconference.
The bank’s non-performing loan ratio was 0.84 percent and its coverage ratio was 112.58 percent last year.
However, First Financial’s brokerage arm, First Securities Inc (第一金證券), saw its earnings last year drop 35.9 percent to NT$585 million, while First-Aviva Life Insurance Co (第一金人壽) incurred a narrower loss of NT$143 million last year, down from a net loss of NT$184 million the previous year.
Among the five Taiwanese banks that have won Chinese approval to set up branches, First Bank and Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) were the first to set up branches across the Taiwan Strait. Both opened their branches on Dec. 23 in Shanghai.
First Financial said it was considering raising capital to fund its expansion in China. It added that it is scheduled to open a financial leasing subsidiary in China next month.
The company also plans to expand in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Myanmar this year.
Its stock soared by the 7 percent daily limit yesterday to close at NT$24.65 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, before the release of its financial results.
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