TAIPEI: Fubon Financial Holding Co this week led its domestic peers in reporting record-high net income of NT$51.5 billion (US$1.6 billion), or NT$5.04 per share in the first seven months, after reporting a rise in earnings of 32.3 percent year-on-year to NT$9.5 billion last month.
The company attributed the strong results to contribution from Fubon Life Insurance Co, which saw its net income during the first seven months surge 66.9 percent year-on-year to NT$35.8 billion, primarily driven by net interest income and cash dividends.
However, net income for its securities brokerage in the first seven months fell sharply by 40 percent to NT$776 million, due to a persisting slump in the local bourse’s trading volume and lagging trading performance by its dealers, Fubon said in a statement.
Cathay Financial Holding Co, the nation’s leading financial services provider by assets, reported net income of NT$50.42 billion, or NT$3.98 per share during the January-to-July period, gaining 32 percent year-on-year, although net income last month declined to NT$7.5 billion from NT$10.4 billion in June.
The company also attributed its gains in the January-to-July period to contribution from Cathay Life Insurance Co , which saw profit of NT$36.2 billion in the period, up 41 percent from a year earlier.
However, like other securities brokerages, Cathay Securities Co incurred losses of NT$12.3 million last month amid heightened market volatility, but it still made a profit of NT$350 million during the first seven months.
Morgan Stanley said dividend income helped both Fubon Financial and Cathay Financial deliver strong profits last month.
“After recording strong dividend income in July, we expect good recurring profit from dividends in August too,” Morgan Stanley analyst Silvia Fun said in a note.
CTBC Financial Holding Co, the nation’s third-largest financial services company by market capitalization, reported net income of NT$19.9 billion, or NT$1.3 per share in the first seven months, the company said in a statement.
CTBC said that excluding last year’s NT$14.8 billion one-time booking from its acquisition of Tokyo Star Bank, it still produced a 26 percent year-on-year gain in recurring earnings during the first seven months, which it attributed to strong performance in fee and interest incomes by its banking arm, CTBC Bank Co .
