State-run First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) yesterday said that the company is to emerge from macroeconomic headwinds within the next two quarters.
The company said that it expects to shake off the effects of the central bank’s interest rate cut in two quarters, with the impact on earnings remaining limited to a 1 to 2 basis points contraction of its net interest margin. The central bank in September lowered its key interest rates by 0.125 percent.
The company’s net interest margin was 1.61 percent at the end of the first three quarters, higher than its 1.55 percent last year.
During the period, core earnings were supported by the improving bottom line, despite declining demand for domestic loans, while overseas foreign exchange loans and fee incomes recorded robust double-digit growth, the company said.
The bank-focused financial group also said that it has addressed its poor capital adequacy ratio, lifting the figure to 152.66 percent as of the end of September, 24.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
First Financial reported that its net income in the first nine months rose 2.7 percent annually to NT$12.02 billion (US$366.29 million), or NT$1.21 per share.
On an annualized basis, return on equity fell 11.9 percentage points to 9.45 percent in the January-to-September period, while return on assets dipped 1.5 percentage points to 0.67 percent, the company said.
Meanwhile, the company said that among its overseas banking branches, Hong Kong is the most profitable, making US$20 million, followed by New York’s US$13 million and the combined US$10 million made by its Cambodia and Vietnam branches.
In China, the company’s branches in Chengdu and Xiamen remained in the red, while its Shanghai branch recorded US$6.5 million in profits.
First Financial said that its overseas acquisition efforts are to be limited to Asia, with a focus on Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The company is expecting the economic downturn to bottom out this quarter and the Taiwanese economy to regain growth momentum shortly after the Lunar New Year.
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