THE LOCAL UNIT of Malaysian banking giant Maybank said its net income rose by 87% to P273.9 million during the six-month period ending December 2011. Maybank attributed the higher profits to the 46% increase in its net interest income during the same period.

“Maybank Philippines’...net profit amounted to P273.9 million [in the first half of fiscal year 2011], up 87% from the P146.2 million [in the same period last year],” Maybank Group President and Chief Executive Officer Abdul Wahid Omar told reporters during the announcement of the Maybank Group’s financial results for the six-month period ended December 2011.

Maybank’s 2011 fiscal year starts in July and ends in June 2012.

MPI, a commercial bank, is a subsidiary of the Maybank Group.

The increase in the bank’s income, Mr. Abdul Wahid said was supported by the 46% increase to P933.3 million in its net interest income.

He said MPI’s net interest income accounted for three-fourths of the bank’s total income.

The loan portfolio of Maybank’s unit in the Philippines surged by 57% in the July to December period from the same period last year.

“Loans breached the P23-billion mark, with almost all segments growing at a double-digit pace,” Mr. Abdul Wahid said.

MPI’s non-interest income, meanwhile, climbed by 20% to P307.5 billion from the year before.

Before its investment in ATR KimEng, Maybank was solely present in the country through Maybank Philippines, a commercial bank with 52 branches.

The Maybank Group reported a 20% growth in its profits after tax to 2.58 billion Malaysian Ringgit in the first six month period of fiscal year 2011 supported by the double-digit growth in revenues across all businesses.

(Excepts from the article by Ann Rozainne R. Gregorio, BusinessWorld, Banking and Finance section, 24 February 2011)