Sri Lanka’s NDB profits up 46-pct in Dec

Feb 15, 2016 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's National Development Bank's profits were up 46 percent to 1,254 million rupees in the December 2015 quarter from a year earlier, interim accounts filled with the Colombo Stock Exchange said.

The group reported earnings of 7.

62 rupees per share. In the December quarter interest income rose 8.

7 percent to 5.7 billion rupees and interest expense rose 9.

3 percent to 3.6 billion rupees. The bank said most of the growth came during the second half of the year. "The performance during the first six months of 2015 was modest and most of the growth came during the second half of the year, partly due to macro-economic and political conditions that prevailed during this period," the bank said.

"The benefits of growth achieved in the second half of the year will reflect in the financial results of 2016.

" In 2015 the bank grew its loans 20 percent to 209 billion rupees while loan loss provisions were down to 201 million rupees from 222 million a year earlier.