BUCHAREST (Romania), April 25 (SeeNews) – Romania's Banca Transilvania [BSE:TLV] said on Wednesday its net profit rose by 49% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018, reaching 366 million lei ($96 million/ 79 million euro).
"It was an upright start for the year, with results as expected, focusing on the experience we provide to customers in all our business segments. We have made significant investments in network’s redesign and service digitization," Banca Transilvania CEO Omer Tetik said in a statement accompanying the bank's unaudited financial report.
The bank's operating income rose to 735.7 million lei in the first three months of the year, up 26.4% as compared to the same period of 2017.
At the end of March, the bank's assets totalled 59.57 billion lei, up 0.46% year-on-year.
Net loans increased to 30.28 billion lei, up 1.23% on the year. During the first three months of 2018, Banca Transilvania granted 44,000 new loans to retail, SME and corporate clients.
Deposits from customers edged up by 0.04% year-on-year to 49 billion lei in the three months through March.
The loan-deposit ratio increased to 65% in the first quarter, compared to 73% at the end of March 2017.
Non-performing loans accounted for 6.35% of Banca Transilvania’s total loan portfolio at end-March, while their cover with related provisions and mortgage collaterals remains at a comfortable level of 71% and in line with the bank’s risk appetite.
At group level, Banca Transilvania, which also includes BT Asset Management, BT Direct, BT Leasing, BT Securities, Factoring company, BT Finop Leasing and Medicredit, posted a net profit of 388.9 million lei in the first quarter of 2018, up 45.7% on the year. Group assets totalled 60.12 billion lei at the end of March, up 0.54% on the year.
Blue-chip Banca Transilvania is the largest Romanian privately-owned bank. It booked a net profit of 1.186 billion lei in 2017, down 3.46% compared to 2016.
On Thursday, Banca Transilvania said it will ask its shareholders to approve the issuance of a corporate bond of up to 350 million euro ($433 million).
Earlier this month, the bank said it concluded the acquisition of the local units of Greece's Eurobank for an undisclosed sum. As a result of the transaction, Banca Transilvania acquired holdings in the companies which are part of the Eurobank Group in Romania, namely Bancpost, ERB Retail Services IFN and ERB Leasing IFN.
Banca Transilvania's shares were traded 0.56% higher at 2.7050 lei on the Bucharest Stock Exchange as at 1022 CET on Wednesday.
(1 euro=4.6516 lei)
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