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PRNewswire 17-Apr-2019 7:00 AM
PANAMA CITY, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE:BLX, ", Bladex", , or ", the Bank", )), a Panama-based multinational bank originally established by the central banks of 23 Latin-American and Caribbean countries to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the region, today announced its results for the first quarter ("1Q19") ended March 31, 2019.
The consolidated financial information in this document has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB").
FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
|
|||
(US$ million, except percentages and per share amounts) |
1Q19 |
4Q18 |
1Q18 |
Key Income Statement Highlights |
|||
Net Interest Income ("NII") |
$28.0 |
$28.0 |
$26.6 |
Fees and commissions, net |
$2.4 |
$5.4 |
$3.1 |
Total revenues |
$32.1 |
$34.1 |
$30.7 |
(Impairment loss) recovery on financial instruments |
($0.9) |
$1.3 |
($1.9) |
Impairment loss on non-financial assets |
$0.0 |
($2.3) |
$0.0 |
Operating expenses |
($9.9) |
($12.4) |
($14.3) |
Profit for the period |
$21.2 |
$20.7 |
$14.5 |
Profitability Ratios |
|||
Earnings per Share ("EPS") (1) |
$0.54 |
$0.52 |
$0.37 |
Return on Average Equity ("ROAE")(2) |
8.6% |
8.3% |
5.6% |
Return on Average Assets ("ROAA") |
1.31% |
1.20% |
0.91% |
Net Interest Margin ("NIM")(3) |
1.74% |
1.61% |
1.68% |
Net Interest Spread ("NIS")(4) |
1.16% |
1.08% |
1.26% |
Efficiency Ratio(5) |
30.8% |
36.3% |
46.6% |
Assets, Capital, Liquidity & Credit Quality |
|||
Commercial Portfolio(6) |
$6,006 |
$6,290 |
$5,731 |
Investment Portfolio |
$90 |
$107 |
$85 |
Total assets |
$6,450 |
$7,609 |
$5,875 |
Total equity |
$997 |
$994 |
$1,047 |
Market capitalization(7) |
$788 |
$684 |
$1,127 |
Tier 1 Basel III Capital Ratio (8) |
20.1% |
18.1% |
22.6% |
Total assets / Total equity (times) |
6.5 |
7.7 |
5.6 |
Liquid Assets / Total Assets (9) |
11.9% |
22.4% |
9.3% |
Credit-impaired loans to Loan Portfolio(10) |
1.18% |
1.12% |
1.12% |
Total allowance for losses to Commercial Portfolio(11) |
1.75% |
1.65% |
1.57% |
Total allowance for losses to credit-impaired loans (times)(11) |
1.6 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
1Q19 Highlights
CEO'S Comments
Mr. N. Gabriel Tolchinsky, Bladex's Chief Executive Officer, said, "The prospect of diminishing trade volumes and other impacts from continuing trade tension, the weight of lower growth rates from developed markets combined with a more challenging political and economic environment in key Latin American countries, results in a macroeconomic context that offers no room for complacency.
Against this backdrop we analyze the risk/reward function at the country level and see a dynamic picture of how our portfolio construction is evolving. With more than 75% of our portfolio maturing in less than one year, Bladex is in a privileged position to dynamically adjust portfolio exposures.
We were pleased with Panama's upgrade from a major credit rating agency, not only because Panama is our home, but also because it is an important exposure in our portfolio that we intend to increase. We also see growth opportunities in the rest of Central America and the Caribbean, Colombia, Peru and Chile.
The first quarter of the year is a seasonally slow one for Latin America. Nevertheless, our book of business is solid. We are identifying new prospects, increasing share of wallet with our existing client base and structuring value-added transactions with key clients.
Although our focus on high quality borrowers and prescient US dollar liquidity in key markets puts pressure on our origination margins, Bladex continues to originate medium term loans at higher lending spreads than those of maturating loans, thereby improving overall margins for our portfolio.
On the cost side, expenses for the quarter benefitted somewhat from the seasonality effect. That said, we reiterate our statement from the last call that net of restructuring and other non-recurring charges, our recurrent expenses continue to decline.
Against this backdrop, the management of Bladex - as well as its Board of Directors - is cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2019 and look for a continuation on the profitability path from last quarter."
RECENT EVENTS
Notes:
- Numbers and percentages set forth in this earnings release have been rounded and accordingly may not total exactly.
- QoQ and YoY refer to quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year variations, respectively.
Footnotes:
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This press release contains forward-looking statements of expected future developments within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements in this press release include the growth of the credit portfolio, including the trade portfolio, the increase in the number of the Bank's corporate clients, the trend of lending spreads, changes in activities engaged in by the Bank that are derived from the Bank's client base, anticipated operating results and return on equity in future periods, including income derived from the Treasury Business Segment, and changes in the financial and performance strength of the Bank. These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations of the Bank's management and are based on currently available data; however, actual performance and results are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could materially impact the Bank's expectations. Among the factors that can cause actual performance and results to differ materially are as follows: the anticipated changes in the Bank's credit portfolio; the continuation of the Bank's preferred creditor status; the impact of increasing/decreasing interest rates and of the macroeconomic environment in the Region on the Bank's financial condition; the execution of the Bank's strategies and initiatives, including its revenue diversification strategy; the adequacy of the Bank's allowance for expected credit losses; the need for additional allowance for expected credit losses; the Bank's ability to achieve future growth, to reduce its liquidity levels and increase its leverage; the Bank's ability to maintain its investment-grade credit ratings; the availability and mix of future sources of funding for the Bank's lending operations; potential trading losses; the possibility of fraud; and the adequacy of the Bank's sources of liquidity to replace deposit withdrawals. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
ABOUT BLADEX
Bladex, a multinational bank originally established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, began operations in 1979 to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region. The Bank, headquartered in Panama, also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States of America, supporting the regional expansion and servicing its customer base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.
Bladex is listed on the NYSE in the United States of America (NYSE:BLX), since 1992, and its shareholders include: central banks and state-owned banks and entities representing 23 Latin American countries; commercial banks and financial institutions; and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
There will be a conference call to discuss the Bank's quarterly results on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. New York City time (Eastern Standard Time). For those interested in participating, please dial (800) 311-9401 in the United States or, if outside the United States, (334) 323-7224. Participants should use conference ID# 8034, and dial in five minutes before the call is set to begin. There will also be a live audio webcast of the conference at http://www.bladex.com. The webcast presentation will be available for viewing and downloads on http://www.bladex.com.
The conference call will become available for review on Conference Replay one hour after its conclusion, and will remain available for 60 days. Please dial (877) 919-4059 or (334) 323-0140, and follow the instructions. The replay passcode is: 33287579.
For more information, please access http://www.bladex.com or contact:
Mrs. Ana Graciela de Méndez
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +507 210-8563
E-mail address: amendez@bladex.com
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SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)