BANGKOK: Banks reported a combined net profit of B54 billion during the July-to-September quarter, up from B46.6 billion posted over the same period last year, according to their filings to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
They set aside a total of B39.1 billion for the third quarter, down significantly from B50.3 billion in the corresponding period a year ago. Kiatnakin Bank was the best performer among its industry peers in terms of percentage. The small bank’s quarterly consolidated net profit stood at B1.69 billion, up 83% from B923 million year-on-year, with higher income from net interest, fees and services cancelling out higher impairment charges.
The bank’s net interest rate income surged 19.5% year-on-year to B2.96 billion in the third quarter, and its net fee and services income rose 7.7% to B888 million. It put aside loan-loss reserves of B1.01 billion in the quarter, up from B941million a year earlier. Krungthai Bank (KTB), the country’s second-largest lender by assets, was the No.2 performer, with a 61% rise in quarterly consolidated net profit to B8.62 billion.
The gain was attributed to a sharp reduction in its impairment cost to B7.64 billion for the quarter from B10.45 billion a year earlier. KTB’s loan-loss coverage ratio stood at 106% at the end of September. In the third quarter last year, KTB was required by the central bank to fully set aside provisions for loans borrowed by debt-ridden Sahaviriya Steel Industries Plc (SSI) and its loss-making subsidiary SSI UK after it defaulted. The 12.5% rise in net interest income to B21.6 billion for the three months to September helped earnings, though KTB’s net non-interest income fell by 17.3% year-on-year to B5.59 billion.
KTB’s gross non-performing loans (NPLs) surged by 28.9% year-on-year to B98.4 billion baht in September. Its gross NPL ratio jumped to 4.2% at the end of last month from 3.2% in December. Corporate, small-business and retail loans, as well as the decline in KTB’s loans outstanding, contributed to the NPL upsurge. KTB’s total loans dropped by almost 6% to B1.9 trillion at the end of September. For the first nine months, the bank’s earnings shot up 14.4% year-on-year to B24.84 billion baht.
On the opposite end, TMB Bank was the worst performer in the third quarter. Its unreviewed consolidated net profit plunged 34% year-on-year to B1.85 billion as larger loan-loss provisions took a bite out of earnings. The bank set aside B2.54 billion in provisions for the period, up from B820 million a year earlier. Bangkok Bank, Thailand’s largest lender by assets, was the only bank among the big four that saw earnings dip. It posted a 11% year-on-year fall in unreviewed consolidated net profit for the period.
