BOC Hong Kong (2388) has declared its first-ever quarterly dividend of 29 HK cents as its operating profit before impairment allowances grew 15.6 percent to HK$15.9 billion in the quarter that ended in March.
The lender’s net operating income before impairment allowances increased by 12.9 percent year-on-year to HK$20.1 billion.
If the funding income or cost of foreign currency swap contracts were included, net interest income would have increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year to HK$14.8 billion, driven by a growth of 8.3 percent in average interest-earning assets, BOCHK said in a filing on Tuesday.
Net interest margin for the quarter dropped by 6 basis points to 1.55 percent, mainly due to a decline in asset yield as a result of lower market interest rates, the filing said.
Net fee and commission income increased by 34.7 percent on a year-on-year basis to HK$3.4 billion, driven by the increased demand for investment and wealth management services amid improved investor sentiment in the stock market.
The bank’s net charge of impairment allowances increased by HK$381 million to HK$1.26 billion in the quarter, mainly due to additional impairment allowances in relation to certain non-performing customers.
The annualized credit cost of advances to customers and other accounts was 0.32 percent, the lender said.
STAFF REPORTER
