Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation’s second-largest financial conglomerate by assets, yesterday reported annual growth of 21.8 percent for last month with a net profit of NT$16.16 billion (US$583.6 million).
The company posted NT$122.3 billion in net profit for the first eight months, the highest among all local financial service providers, company data showed.
Earnings per share were NT$11.69 for the first eight months of the year, making Fubon the most profitable financial holding company in Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holding Co
It attributed the growth to contributions from Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), the profit of which expanded 18 percent year-on-year to NT$11.72 billion.
Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) and Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) also reported an improvement in net profit, it said.
Fubon Life continued to realize capital gains despite volatility on the local stock market last month, benefiting from dividend income and lower foreign exchange hedging costs, the company said in a statement.
First-year premiums (FYP) last month were NT$10.9 billion, up 32.3 percent annually, while cumulative FYPs were NT$121.4 billion for the first eight months, up 2 percent year-on-year, it said.
Fubon Life had a net profit of NT$89.92 billion for the first eight months of the year, up 109 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Taipei Fubon Bank’s net profit rose 16 percent to NT$2.07 billion due to investment gains, while Fubon Securities registered annual growth of 35 percent with net earnings of NT$741 million despite lower turnover in the local stock market, it said.
Fubon Financial recognized a gain of NT$260 million from newly acquired Jih Sun Financial Co (日盛金控), which made a net profit of NT$458 million last month, company data showed.
Fubon Financial completed the acquisition of Jih Sun at the end of last month, giving it a 56.92 percent share of the company.
Separately, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial services provider by assets, posted cumulative net profit of NT$114 billion, or earning per share of NT$7.92, for the first eight months of the year, company data showed.
Cathay Financial’s net profit last month fell 15 percent to NT$10.88 billion from NT$12.79 billion a year earlier, after Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) reported an annual decline of 24.8 percent in net profit to NT$8.06 billion, offsetting growth from other units, such as Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), corporate data showed.
Cathay Financial was heavily reliant on Cathay Life for growth.
Cathay Life did not report why its net profit declined last month year-on-year, only saying in a statement that its FYPs tallied NT$17 billion, ranking first among life insurers, and that its investment division would boost investment gains through agile investing, despite volatile financial markets.
It had dividend income of NT$6.1 billion last month and expected it to total NT$18.5 billion to NT$19.5 billion for the whole of the year, it said.
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