BCA profit soars 88% in first quarter

BCA profit soars 88% in first quarter

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The country's largest retail bank PT Bank Central Asia (BCA)
announced on Monday an 88 percent increase in its first quarter
net profit to Rp 832.7 billion (US$92.30 million), due to a sharp
rise in interest income.

BCA's interest income increased 47 percent to Rp 1.54 trillion
during the quarter compared to Rp 1.05 trillion in 2001, company
president DE Setijoso told reporters on Monday following the
company's shareholders' meeting.

Operating income sharply increased to Rp 1.02 trillion from Rp
546.77 billion last year.

Setijoso also explained that the shareholders had agreed to
pay a final dividend of Rp 140 per share on top the interim
dividend of Rp 85 per share paid in December last year.

This brought the total dividend to Rp 225 per share,
reflecting a payout ratio of nearly 43 percent of BCA's net
profit of Rp 3.12 trillion for last year.

BCA's total assets are predicted to grow to between Rp 110 and
Rp 115 trillion this year from Rp 103 trillion last year, while
total lending is targeted to increase to about Rp 21 trillion
from Rp 14.7 trillion.

Setijoso was also quoted by Antara as saying that the bank had
no plans to lay off workers following the recent acquisition of
51 percent of the shares by U.S. investment firm Farallon
Capital.

Farallon, he said, would not be involved in the day-to-day
operations of the bank and had pledged not to install its staff
in strategic or managerial level positions in the bank.

The acquisition of the bank by a foreign-based firm had
prompted fears among employee, repeatedly and publicly raised by
the bank's labor union, of a massive lay-off.