NDB Capital Holdings off to an impressive start

Friday, 30 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Subsequent to achieving the best financial year of its history in 2013, NDB Capital Holdings PLC (NCAP) started the year by recording an impressive consolidated quarterly income of Rs. 361 million, which translated to a consolidated PAT of Rs. 248 million. At Company level, the quarterly Income and PAT stood at Rs. 197 million and Rs. 182 million respectively. The performance reiterates the leadership position the NCAP Group holds in the country’s investment banking space and lays the foundation for another record breaking year. Revenue and Net Profits of the Company during 2014Q1 has seen a drop compared to the same period the prior year.

The reason for this apparent dip in performance is due to NCAP Group recording an extraordinary profit during the first quarter of 2013 owing to income from investing approximately Rs. 6.7 billion in cash it received via the divestment of both direct and indirect stakes held in Aviva NDB Insurance PLC. However, this cash was returned to the shareholders towards the end of 2013Q1 and was not available for the Company for investments beyond that period. Adjusting for this one-off gain, the consolidated income and PAT of NCAP for 2014Q1 saw an increase of 40% and 53% respectively over the same quarter 2013. This remarkable performance was mainly fuelled by efficient asset allocation, successful investment strategies and increased fee income from its group companies NDB Investment Bank Ltd., NDB Securities Ltd. and NDB Wealth Management Ltd. The Group annualised ROE too increased to 16% for the first quarter of 2014 from 10.9% (adjusted) in Q1 2013. Chairman Ashok Pathirage, while commending the impressive performance of the NCAP Group, said: “Two companies of the Group – NDB Investment Bank and NDB Wealth Management – reaffirmed their leadership positions in their particular lines of business by being recognised as the ‘Best Investment Bank in Sri Lanka 2014’ and ‘Best Asset Management Company in Sri Lanka 2014’ respectively by the prestigious Global Banking and Finance Review Awards.” He added: “I’m delighted to note that NCAP Group CEO Vajira Kulatilaka has been recognised as the ‘Best Investment Banking CEO in Sri Lanka 2014’ by Global Banking and Finance Review magazine for the contribution he has made to steer the investment banking cluster to great heights.” Kulatilaka stated: “As evidenced by the first quarter performance, NCAP Group is well on track to record another great year in spite of the subdued activity in the country’s capital markets experienced thus far during the year.” He added: “With our private equity initiative gaining momentum and some potential investors publicly announcing their interest to infuse capital to the fund, NCAP Group can soon successfully venture into and cater to another important segment of the country’s economy.” NCAP is a subsidiary of National Development Bank PLC.