FIMBank Group announces positive half-yearly results

10.08.2011

The FIMBank Group has announced an after-tax profit of USD4.08 million for the six months ended 30 June 2011, an increase of over 20% when compared with USD3.39 million registered for the same period in 2010. This figure emerges from the consolidated interim results of the FIMBank Group which were recently approved by its Board of Directors.

Other key financial indicators highlighted in the Group’s interim results show that Group Net Operating Income rose to USD 18.95 million (2010 - USD 15.64 million) while total consolidated assets increased by 19% to top the USD 1 billion mark by 30 June of this year. Group basic Earnings per Share for the period rose to US cents 3.00 from US cents 2.50 in 2010. Averaging at 49%, liquidity ratios were well above the statutory requirements during the period under review, while Basle II solvency ratios, at 19.4%, remained robust and comfortably above the regulatory benchmark.

In their Half-Yearly Report the Directors note that while the period under review started with “reasonable expectations” that international trade would pick up as a result of wide-ranging monetary and fiscal measures across major economies, the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has fostered a sense of uncertainty. While remaining “cautious of these regions and keeping them closely monitored”, FIMBank is also looking ahead to the opportunities which might present themselves once the situation stabilises.

Commenting on the FIMBank Group’s results and performance for the first half of 2011, the President Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger expressed satisfaction that “the strategy of diversification and growth in both financial products and markets is clearly showing some positive results”, highlighting the encouraging contribution by Menafactors in Dubai, the promising start of factoring operations in India and FIMBank’s belief in the potential of other markets where it has set up factoring joint factors with major institutional partners, including Dubai, Russia, Egypt and more recently Brazil. Ms. Lütschg-Emmenegger explained that in the current market and political conditions, FIMBank’s approach to developing new banking and structured trade finance business will remain “selective and focused on its core competency, namely cross-border trade finance with an emphasis on emerging markets”. With regard to the agreement signed with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Saudi Fund for Development for a funding facility of USD60 million, the FIMBank President stated that this will “enable FIMBank to finance more trade transactions for emerging market firms in various sectors. It also reiterated confidence in the Group”.

Ms. Lütschg-Emmenegger concluded that “buoyed by solid capital and liquidity fundamentals which are comfortably above minimum regulatory requirements, we will maintain our efforts to further strengthen prudent revenue generation balanced with effective cost management”.

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