Significant improvements in the third quarter have enabled the Commercial Bank Group to post creditable results for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
Comprising of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, its subsidiaries and associates, the Group reported an operating profit before taxes on financial services of Rs 22.211 billion for the period, converting a decline of 3.31% at the end of June 2019 to a growth of 2.27% at the end of September 2019.
Operating profit before taxes on financial services for the third quarter alone amounted to Rs 8.262 billion. Group profit before income tax (PBT) reduced by 6.41% to Rs 16.745 billion. PBT for the quarter increased by 5.83% to Rs 6.395 billion.
Profit after income tax (PAT) of Rs 11.518 billion was down by 4.2%, while PAT for the quarter was up by an impressive 21.21% to Rs. 4.846 billion, the Bank said.
The Group paid out a total of Rs. 10.703 billion in taxes for the nine months reviewed. 
The Commercial Bank Group reported gross income of Rs. 112.358 billion for the nine months, an improvement of 11.07%. Interest income grew by 11.49% to Rs. 97.353 billion, but interest expenses increased at a higher rate of 13.95% to Rs. 60.930 billion, resulting in net interest income growing by 7.62% to Rs 36.424 billion. Interest income accounted for 86.65% of gross income, marginally higher than the figure of 86.31% for last year. Net interest income meanwhile accounted for 72.98% of total operating income.
Total operating income improved by 7.72% to Rs 49.906 billion. Total impairment charges rose by 21.21% to Rs. 8.545 billion, but impairment provisions for the third quarter of 2019 declined by 18.06%, the Bank disclosed. Net operating income grew by 5.3% to Rs. 41.362 billion.
Total expenses increased by 9.04% to Rs. 19.150 billion for the nine months reviewed. Total assets of the Group grew by Rs. 50 billion or 3.82% to Rs. 1.370 trillion as at September 30, 2019, a YoY growth of Rs. 115.068 billion or 9.17%.
Gross loans and advances grew marginally to Rs 900.118 billion. The growth of deposits over the preceding 12 months was Rs 94.806 billion or 10% YoY, at a monthly average of Rs 7.9 billion.
At Bank level, Commercial Bank reported PBT of Rs 16.287 billion, down by 8.74% for the nine months, but recorded an increase of 4.73% to Rs 6.241 billion for the third quarter. Similarly, the Bank’s PAT for the nine months was down by 6.61% to Rs 11.223 billion, but up by a noteworthy 20.39% to Rs 4.757 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2019.
The Bank’s gross NPL ratio increased to 5.09% at the end of the third quarter from 4.86% as at June 30, 2019, while its net NPL ratio increased to 3.22% from 2.96% as at June 30, 2019.