Republic makes $783.2m half-year profit

Republic Bank Ltd,  Independence Square, POS. Photo by Jeff Mayers
Republic Bank Ltd, Independence Square, POS. Photo by Jeff Mayers

Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) has reported a $783.2 million profit for the first half of financial year 2019 (up to March 31) – a 20 per cent increase over the year before.

Core profit was $690.2 million, $39.8 million or a 6.1 per cent increase. Total assets stood at $83.5 billion at March 31, an increase of $15.1 billion or up by 22 per cent.

The company attributed growth to its near 75 per cent acquisition of Cayman National Corporation (CNC) in March. “The CNC acquisition increased RFHL’s asset base by $11.1 billion and is expected to significantly enhance group’s profitability when its results are included in the year-end financial statements”, the bank said.

RFHL had also announced late last November, its plans to begin the process to acquire Scotiabank’s banking operations in Guyana, St. Maarten and the Eastern Caribbean (including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). “Over the last quarter, we continued engaging the various regulators, whose approvals are required for the acquisition, through meetings and/or providing information.”

CNC reported net profits in fiscal 2018 of $175 million.

Republic added that its overall profit was impacted by two significant one-off items, the net impact of which positively increased profits by $93.1 million. Firstly, the bank in TT amended the terms of its post-retirement medical benefits plan in line with market, resulting in a write back, net of deferred taxes, of $284.9 million. Secondly, Barbados reduced its corporation tax rate from 30 per cent to a range between one per cent and five per cent, which resulted in a $191.8 charge to the bank’s income statement as a result of a re-measurement of deferred tax assets at the lower tax rate.

The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of $1.25 per share payable on May 31, 2019.

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