BNI expects 20 percent profit growth this year

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) expects 20 percent net profit growth this year, its president, Widigdo Sukarman, said yesterday.

Widigdo said the growth target was in line with Indonesia's tight monetary situation.

Speaking after the bank's annual shareholders meeting, he said the bank would continue to improve services as part of its strategy to maintain 20 percent annual growth.

This year the bank would install 235 automated teller machines (ATM), he said. "This will increase the bank's ATMs to 500 from 265".

Widigdo said the bank set up three joint ventures last year -- PT BNI Nomura Jafco Management, PT BNJI Ventura (both venture capital firms) and life insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa BNI Jiwasraya.

Yesterday's meeting approved a Rp 13 dividend for 1996.

"The dividend constitutes a 30 percent of 1996's net profit," Widigdo said.

BNI, which listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange last November, booked a Rp 335 billion (US$139.5 million) net profit, up 22.6 percent from Rp 274 billion

Last year's net profit was higher than the projected Rp 326 billion.

"We will announce our 1997 first quarter profit in the first week of May," he said.

He said the bank's interest income rose 23.77 percent to Rp 4.10 trillion last year from Rp 3.31 trillion.

Total assets rose 8.5 percent to Rp 34.88 trillion, while productive assets increased 5.4 percent to Rp 32.55 trillion.

He said the bank's funds (savings, time deposits and other public funds) reached 19.09 trillion, up 12.60 percent from Rp 16.96.

About 84.86 percent of the bank's funds were in rupiah while the rest was mostly in U.S. dollars.

The bank's credit rose 20 percent to Rp 22.92 trillion from Rp 18.98 trillion.

Of the credit, 37.45 percent went to the industrial sector, the service sector (21 percent), the trade sector (19.47 percent), the agricultural sector (13 percent), the electricity and gas sector (1.54 percent), the mining sector (0.03 percent) and other sectors (7.49 percent).

He said the bank's return of average equity (ROAE) dropped from 19.37 percent to 15.18 percent.

"The drop in ROAE was caused by the increase in the bank's equity from its initial public offering in November 1996," he said.

Widigdo said increased equity lifted the bank's capital adequacy ratio from 8.94 percent in 1995 to 11.82 percent.

The bank's total equity rose from Rp 1.58 trillion to Rp 2.83 trillion. (09)