BSP announces K531.9m profit

 BANK South Pacific has announced a net profit of K531.9 million in its last financial year.

BSP chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou said the net profit was last year’s unaudited preliminary consolidated group results.

He said it represented a five per cent increase compared to the previous year. 

Sir Kostas said total assets of K18.274 billion – up 15 per cent from 2014 – and a capital adequacy of 23.3 per cent, compared to 24 per cent in the previous financial year.

Sir Kostas said it was well above the Bank of PNG’s prudential minimum of 12 per cent. 

“In Papua New Guinea, positive loan portfolio growth, steady channel income, and a continuing and disciplined cost containment strategy, have allowed BSP to achieve an improved profit outcome, notwithstanding some slowdowns in certain sectors of the PNG economy.

“BSP’s overseas operations and subsidiaries have also contributed strongly to the 2015 result.”

Sir Kostas said the audit was progressing to plan and the bank did not expect the results to change materially.

The audited results will be released in early March.

Bank South Pacific Limited opened its doors in 1957 in Port Moresby as a branch of the National Bank of Australasia Limited.