BCA earns profit before tax Rp 2.80t

PT Bank Central Asia Tbk has posted a profit before tax of Rp 2.80 trillion (US$305 million) during the first nine months of 2002, up by 25.72 percent from Rp 2.23 trillion during the same period in 2001.

Net interest income from the period totaled Rp 4,253 billion, up by 17.38 percent from Rp 3,608 billion for the same period in 2001, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Despite the declining trend in the interest rate of the SBI promissory notes since the beginning of the year, during the first nine months of 2002 BCA has been able to increase its annualized net interest margin from 5.30 percent in 2001 to 5.56 percent in 2002.

The increase in the net interest earning and margin was caused mainly by the bank's ability to maintain its low-cost funds and to drive loan growth in addition to generating other revenue from other productive assets.

Other operating income rose by 23.13 percent from Rp 735 billion to Rp 905 billion.

Operational expenses stood at Rp 2,216 billion, up by 32.85 percent from Rp 1,666 billion last year.

General and administration expenses rose to Rp 1,006 billion from Rp 697 billion, while salaries and benefit expenses rose from Rp 855 billion to Rp 1,161 billion

The company's total assets stood at Rp 111,524 billion as of Sept. 30, up from Rp 99,979 billion in the same period last year.

Third party funds stood at Rp 96,616 billion, up by 10.18 percent from Rp 87,692 billion.

Outstanding loans rose from Rp 12,152 billion to Rp 18,267 billion with 41 percent of the loans disbursed to retail and consumer segments.

"The two segments ... will continue to be the focus of the bank's loan channeling effort in the future," it said. -- JP