Bank Numbers

May 16, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's National Development Bank group said March 2011 quarter net profit doubled to 605 million rupees from a year ago as lending and deposits grew and it contained bad loans. Interest income fell two percent to 2.5 billion rupees while interest expenses fell four percent to 1.4 billion rupees enabling net interest income to rise one percent to just over a billion rupees, a stock exchange filing said.

"The improved performance was supported by NDB Bank’s strong and sustainable core banking profits and of the group companies," a bank statement said.

"The NDB group has been able to sustain core banking profit growth and demonstrate a systematic increase in its performance as a financial services group."

The core banking income of NDB Bank increased by 15 percent in March 2011 from the previous year while profit after tax "increased even more significantly by 65 percent, partly due to the reduced tax rates applicable from 2011," the bank said.

The stock exchange filing said NDB Bank's non-interest income rose 20 percent to 659 million rupees in the quarter from the previous year.

Earnings per share rose to 3.69 rupees from 1.82 rupees the year before.