Banco De Oro 2009 profit up 173%

Higher operating income and better cost management boosted bank's net to $132.53mln.

Banco de Oro Unibank Inc posted a net income of P6.1 billion ($132.32 million) in 2009, up 173 percent from P2.2 billion ($47.77 million) a year ago.

The bank said in a statement that higher operating income and a slower increase in operating costs drove last year's profits, which also exceeded the P5.5-billion ($119.31 million) target for the year. BDO posted a record profit of P6.5 billion ($141 million) in 2007.

BDO remained the largest bank in the Philippines, with total consolidated assets of P856.2 billion ($18.57 billion) in 2009. It had P491.8 billion ($10.67 billion) in loans and net receivables as of December.

BDO, controlled by the SM Group of taipan Henry Sy, said net interest income rose 33 percent to P30.6 billion ($665.07 million) in 2009, due to a larger level of earning assets and improved margins.

View the full story in Manila Standard Today.