OREANDA-NEWS. June 4, 2012. Profit after tax amounted to RUB 4.4 billion, an increase of 29.4% compared to Q1 2011 (RUB 3.4 billion).

Operating income before deduction of provisioning charges amounted to RUB 10.9 billion in Q1 2012, which was an increase of 21.2% compared to Q1 2011, mainly due to the 78.3% growth of trading result.

Trading result of the Bank increased by 78.3% to RUB 2.6 billion, mainly due to realized gains less losses from derivative financial instruments (a 303.3% increase to RUB 1.5 billion).

Net fee and commission income increased by 17% to RUB 2 billion in Q1 2012 compared to RUB 1.7 billion in Q1 2011. This increase was achieved mainly as a result of the 38.2% increase in net commissions on operations with plastic cards, as a result of the rise in the number of cards issued, as well as the 48.6% increase in net commissions on settlement transactions resulting from the increase in the customer base.

Net interest income before deduction of provisions for loan impairment amounted to RUB 6.2 billion in Q1 2012, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same period in Q1 2011.

Securities portfolio of the bank amounted to RUB 55.6 billion on March 31, 2012, which was a decrease of 14.7% compared to the end of 2011 due to the 15.8% reduction in the trading securities portfolio and the 29.4% reduction in the portfolio of investment securities available for sale. Trading securities portfolio decreased by 15.8% to RUB 45.4 billion. The decline was mainly due to the sale of corporate bonds. Effective management of the portfolio allowed us to earn RUB 127.9 million from operations with trading securities (excluding coupon income). This is an increase of 628.1% from Q1 2011.

Share of liquid assets grew to 35.5% of the total bank assets as of March 31, 2012 compared to 34.4% on December 31, 2011 due to the 11.9% increase in cash and cash equivalents.

Loans and advances to customers (before provision for loan impairment)amounted to RUB 371 billion on March 31, 2012, which was a slight decrease of 1.7% compared to the end of 2011. The amount of the loan portfolio in real terms increased, but the increase was completely offset by the negative effect of the strengthening ruble.

The bank charged provisions for loan impairment in Q1 2012 by RUB 0.5 billion, compared with the provisions release amounting to RUB 0.1 billion in Q1 2011. This was due to the overall growth of the loan portfolio, as well as the charge of additional provisions for loan impairment. At the same time, there was an improvement in the quality of the current loan portfolio and newly issued loans, which, in turn, partially offset the increase in provisions.

Despite the provisions charge in Q1 2012, balance sheet provisions generated by the bank remained virtually unchanged during the first three months of 2012, down 0.1% compared to the end of 2011. This can be explained by the negative effect of the transition to functional currency, which totaled RUB 0.4 billion and partially offset the charge of provision for impairment during the quarter.

Customer accounts on March 31, 2012 amounted to RUB 399.4 billion, virtually unchanged during Q1 2012 (down 0.01%). The volume of customer deposits in real terms increased, but the increase was completely offset by the negative effect of the strengthening ruble.

The bank’s equityin Q1 2012 increased by 4.7% to RUB 100.3 billion as a result of the bank’s net profit. Return on equity (ROE) before tax increased to 23.2% compared to 20.3% in Q1 2011. Return on equity (ROE) after tax increased by 2.4 percent points to 17.9% in Q1 2012 compared to 15.5% in Q1 2011 (the capital adequacy ratios are given in annual terms).

Capital adequacy ratio (N-1) according to Russian accounting standards was 14.8% as of 04.01.2012, which was an increase of 1.2 percent points from 13.6% as of 01.01.2012.