first quarter earnings exceed analyst estimate of .71 cents a share! BLX
Bladex First Quarter 2015 Net Income Reached $28.8 Million, Or $0.74 Per Share (+23% YoY)
3 days 20 hours 34 minutes ago - DJNF
PANAMA CITY, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE: BLX, "Bladex", or "the Bank"), a Panama-based supranational bank established by the central banks of 23 Latin-American and Caribbean countries to promote foreign trade finance and economic integration in the Region, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
First Quarter 2015 Highlights
Reported results:
-- Bladex's first quarter 2015 ("1Q15") Net Income totaled $28.8 million
(+23% YoY; -20% QoQ), on year-on-year improvements in business income
(+10% YoY) and non-core results.
-- Net interest income totaled $35.8 million in 1Q15 (+11% YoY; -7% QoQ),
mainly from higher year-on-year average loan portfolio balances and
higher net margins resulting primarily from lower average funding costs.
-- Fees and Other Income totaled $2.8 million in 1Q15, on lower balances in
the letters of credit business, while there were no fees from closed
transaction recorded in the loan intermediation and syndication business,
as several transactions still remain in progress.
Key performance metrics:
-- The Bank's 1Q15 annualized return on average equity ("ROAE") reached
12.6% versus 10.9% in 1Q14 and 15.7% in 4Q14.
-- Net interest spread and net interest margin in 1Q15 was 1.68% (+6 bps
YoY; -8 bps QoQ), and 1.84% (+5 bps YoY; -8 bps QoQ), respectively. The
YoY improvement was mainly driven by higher average loan portfolio
balances (+9%) and lower average funding costs (-7 bps).
-- The 1Q15 Business Efficiency Ratio, which excludes non-core revenues and
expenses, was 33% (-2 pts. YoY; +1 pt. QoQ), as business operating
revenues increased 7% YoY and decreased 14% QoQ, while business operating
expenses decreased 1% YoY and 11% QoQ.
Credit Growth & Quality:
-- Average Commercial Portfolio balances amounted to $7.1 billion in 1Q15
(+8% YoY; -2% QoQ), while the end-of-period Commercial Portfolio balances
stood at $7.1 billion as of March 31, 2015 (+7% YoY; -1% QoQ).
-- Non-accrual loans to total loan portfolio balances amounted to 0.32% as
of March 31, 2015, while the ratio of the allowance for credit losses to
the Commercial Portfolio ending balances was 1.23% (+5 bps YoY; +3 bps
QoQ). The credit provision to non-performing loan balances ratio was 4.2
times as of March 31, 2015.
FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
(US$ million, except percentages and per share
amounts) 1Q15 4Q14 1Q14
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Key Income Statement Highlights
Operating revenues $42.2 $51.8 $36.5
Operating expenses $13.0 $14.5 $13.5
Business Net Income(1) $26.4 $30.5 $24.0
Non-Core Items (2) $2.5 $5.6 ($0.5)
Net Income attributable to Bladex Stockholders(3) $28.8 $36.1 $23.5
Profitability Ratios
Earnings per Share ("EPS") (4) $0.74 $0.93 $0.61
Return on Average Equity ("ROAE") 12.6% 15.7% 10.9%
Business ROAE(5) 11.5% 13.2% 11.2%
Business Return on Average Assets 1.35% 1.52% 1.34%
Net Interest Margin ("NIM") 1.84% 1.92% 1.79%
Net Interest Spread ("NIS") 1.68% 1.76% 1.62%
Efficiency Ratio 31% 28% 37%
Business Efficiency Ratio (6) 33% 32% 35%
Assets, Capital, Liquidity & Credit Quality
Commercial Portfolio $7,093 $7,187 $6,610
Treasury Portfolio $393 $393 $353
Total Assets $7,955 $8,025 $7,179
Market capitalization $1,276 $1,167 $1,021
Tier 1 Basel I Capital Ratio (7) 16.2% 15.3% 16.4%
Leverage (times) (8) 8.4 8.8 8.1
Liquid Assets / Total Assets (9) 11.6% 9.2% 8.0%
Non-Accruing Loans to Total Loans, net of discounts 0.32% 0.06% 0.05%
Allowance for Credit Losses to Commercial Portfolio 1.23% 1.20% 1.18%
Credit provision to non-performing loan balances
(times) 4.2 21.4 24.9
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CEO's Comments
Mr. Rubens V. Amaral, Jr., Bladex's Chief Executive Officer, stated the following regarding the Bank's First Quarter 2015 results: "Allowing for seasonal effects not uncommon in our business during the early part of the year, we are pleased to report solid results for the first quarter of 2015.
Weakness in commodity prices, especially so in the case of oil products, has put a damper on origination volumes, even as demand continues to be strong. We have managed to compensate these effects by diversifying into other sectors, such as financial institutions, food and beverage, retail trade, among others, and remain committed to privilege well priced business over sheer volume growth.
Regarding credit quality, we are carefully watching and managing our exposures in order to proactively address and minimize any potential impact on the bottom line, and with that we have only had to make minor adjustments to our reserve coverage levels. As confident as we are regarding the quality of our book of business, we continue to remain vigilant in case the operating environment for our client base suffers any adverse changes.
Operating performance remains on track, and continues to show year-on-year improvements. On the fee income side, we are also making good progress even in the absence of a completed structured transaction this quarter. Our letters of credit business is diversifying away from higher risk environs, and the pipeline of transactions being worked on looks strong, leading us to remain confident regarding our ability to reach our fee income targets this year.
We are aware of the headwinds impacting the economic development of the Region, with 2015 growth estimates now being lowered to levels similar to last year's. Nevertheless, we believe that Bladex continues to be very well positioned to thrive in this environment." Mr. Amaral concluded.
