The pioneer Merchant Bank and subsidiary of Bank of Ceylon, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC, currently known as ‘Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC’ (MBSL), after its merger with two own subsidiaries, recorded a jump start to 2015 by ending 2014 with a 17% growth of its asset base. MBSL posted revenues of Rs. 656.2 million for the ending quarter of 2014 with a Profit before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 120.6 million for the same period.
While the revenues grew aggressively during the last quarter of 2014, net interest income also displayed a sharp increase with a 39% growth from Rs. 800.1 million during the first nine months to Rs. 1,111.8 million by the end of the year. MBSL which did not compete in the public deposit and savings market up until the merger implementation on 1 January 2015, operated by raising funds through money market activities
Further, MBSL has been able to reduce the Interest and Similar Expenses significantly by 13% during the last quarter in 2014 against Q4 of 2013. The values stood at Rs. 345.1 million in Q4 of 2013 and Rs. 298.5 million in Q4 of 2014.
Speaking on the results MBSL CEO T. Mutugala said, “Q4