Security Bank Corp., the country’s seventh-largest lender by assets, said strong revenue growth and improved margins lifted its net income in the first half of the year by 8 percent to P5.9 billion.
Total revenues for the period surged 23 percent year-on-year to P31.6 billion on the back of a 12 percent rise in net interest income to P24.3 billion. The bank reported an expansion of net interest margin to 4.56 percent.
Non-interest income soared 81 percent to P7.2 billion, buoyed by trading gains and recurring fee-based services.
While service charges, fees, and commissions fell to P4.3 billion due to a one-off bancassurance milestone fee in early 2024, the underlying growth was strong—up 23 percent when adjusted for the prior year’s non-recurring income.
Pre-provision operating profit rose 20 percent to P12.8 billion, despite a 25 percent increase in operating expenses as the bank accelerated investments in manpower and technology to support digital transformation.
Security Bank set aside P5.1 billion in provisions for credit losses in the first half, up from P3.3 billion a year ago, as part of prudent risk management. The bank’s gross non-performing loan ratio stood at 3.16 percent, with an NPL reserve cover of 79 percent.
Return on equity was 8.11 percent, while return on assets reached 1.03 percent.
In the second quarter alone, net income also rose 8 percent to P3.0 billion as revenue climbed to P16.1 billion and net interest margin improved to 4.67 percent.
