Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) beat its domestic peers in terms of profitability during the first five months, according to the latest financial reports released by financial services providers.
The nation’s second-largest financial services provider by assets posted a net income of NT$10.13 billion (US$337.9 million), or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.12, during the January-to-May period, Fubon said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) was the financial group’s major earner, contributing net income of NT$6.01 billion in the first five months, while brokerage unit Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) saw weak earnings of NT$570 million after the government’s proposal to tax capital gains on securities investments shrank market turnover, affecting brokerage businesses.
State-run Mega Financial Holdings Co (兆豐金控) ranked second in profitability, with EPS of NT$0.98 in the first five months, while net income reached NT$11.1 billion during the period, the company said in a filing on Thursday.
IBTS Investment Consulting Co (台灣工銀投顧) analyst Mandy Lin (林秋香) yesterday attributed Mega Financial’s strong performance to a NT$400 million gain at Mega Asset Management Corp (兆豐資產管理公司) from a bad loan sale last month and the booming wealth management business at Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐商銀).
Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) came third in terms of profitability, as the company posted a net profit of NT$7.19 billion and an EPS of NT$0.85 over the period, its filing showed yesterday.
Profit is likely to rise further in the coming months, after Shin Kong Financial said last month it was expected to book NT$7.34 billion income this quarter from real-estate asset trust investments and an extra NT$5.2 billion dividend income in the third quarter.
Shin Kong Financial was closely trailed by Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), with the latter reporting NT$8.73 billion in profit for the first five months, with EPS of NT$0.76.
Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial holding firm by assets, remained one of the worst performers as the company posted NT$4.09 billion in net income during the January-to-May period, translating into an EPS of NT$0.4, company data showed.
With an EPS of only NT$0.16 in the first five months, China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) fared the worst among the 15 financial holding companies, with a profit of NT$1.77 billion in the period.
The group said its businesses had been affected by the negative macroeconomic conditions at home and abroad but that it expected an improvement in the second half after it completes the acquisition of KGI Securities Co (凱基證券).
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