Kina recorded K48.2mil net profit for 2018: Taureka

By DALE LUMA
KINA Bank recorded a K48.1 million net profit in the 2018 financial year, according to chairman Isikeli Taureka.
He told the bank’s annual general meeting yesterday in Port Moresby that this was a big increase when compared to the 2017 financial year.
He attributed it largely to foreign exchange trading.
“The results were strongly driven by FX (foreign exchange) trading and supported by the strong US dollar correspondent banking relationship,” he said.
“The performance also reflects the excellent growth in customer volumes while achieving a reduction in funding costs as a percentage of the portfolio.”
Chief executive officer Greg Pawson agreed that the bank had a great year which he attributed to several milestones it delivered.
“Our customer numbers grew by 25 percent to a modest 21,000,” he said.
“Our deposits grew by 29 per cent to K1.3 billion and our loans and advances grew by 20 per cent to K851.7 million.
“We also put considerable effort into strengthening our corresponding banking arrangements which resulted in foreign exchange (forex) income growing by 373 percent to K34.2 million.
“The other two milestones are the proposed acquisition of the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group Ltd’s Papua New Guinea retail, small medium enterprise (SME) and commercial business, and the resolution of our escrow shareholding.”
Pawson said the bank had been able to experience growth because of the focus on customers and the steps taken to improve their experiences. Underpinning the success of our organic growth this year is our focus on customer experience.
“Simplicity, convenience and ease of access are the key themes we are building into our offering.”
The bank recorded a total revenue of K162 million in 2018 – a 45 per cent increase from 2017, according to its annual report presented during the meeting.