BTN BANK'S PROFIT UP 72 PERCENT

Jakarta, April 9 (ANTARA) - PT Bank Tabungan Negara Tbk (BTN) managed to increase its net profit by 72 percent from Rp109.4 billion on March 31, 2009 to Rp187.8 billion a year later.

"After an Initial Public Offering BTN's performance improved significantly," the bank's president director, Iqbal Latanro, said here on Friday when releasing the bank's financial progress report on the first quarter of 2010.

The report showed almost all financial indicators improved compared with those of the same period last year.

"Even in the analysts meeting on Friday investors who were present expressed their satisfaction over the achievement," he said.

Iqbal said be they in terms of assets, credits, third-party funds, profit and even several other important financial ratios all indicators showed an improvement.

Based on the company's performance until March 31, 2010 (un-audited) the bank booked a 21.3 percent growth of asset to Rp 56.2 trillion from only Rp46.3 trillion in the same period last year.

Credits also grew from Rp33.5 trillion on March 31, 2009 to Rp43.1 trillion on March 31, 2010 or 28.6 percent.

The achievment was made because of the bank's credit expansion which reached more than Rp4.5 trillion in the first quarter this year.

In the same period last year credit expansion only reached Rp3.1 trillion. Based on the development it is possible corporate credit this year would be higher than in 2009.

Although credit expansion is quite high the company could still maintain its non-performing loans at a healthy level. The bank's non-performing loan by March 31, 2010 was recorded at 3.2 percent. This is much better compared with the 3.4 percent level recorded at the same period last year.

The bank's management is optimistic credit growth would remain controllable in line with the central bank's tolerance.

The bank's third-party funds grew from Rp32.9 trillion on March 31, 2009 to Rp37.9 trillion in the same period this year. The growth of the third-party funds in 2010 reached 15 percent.

The bank's ratios of capital adquacy, non-performing loans, NIM (net interest margin) and CIR (cost to income ratio) were recorded at 20.5 percent, 3.2 percent, 5.6 percent and 58.6 percent respectively.

The ratios were up compared with those of 2009 with CAR at 15.4 percent, NPL at 3.4 percent, NIM at 3.8 percent and CIR at 70.7 percent.

With all the potential and opportunity Iqbal believed the bank's financial ratios could be maintained and improved in the next period.

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