President and chief executive Kittiphun Anutarasoti credited the improvement mainly to 8.1-per-cent growth in operating income and a 4.5-per-cent drop in provisions, offset by a 10.6-per-cent rise in operating expenses.

Year on year, operating income rose by Bt252.3 million (8.1 per cent) to Bt3.38 billion from an increase of Bt132.9 million (5.4 per cent) in net interest income and Bt47.3 million (11.1 per cent) in net fee and service income arising from higher fees from insurance, hire-purchase and mutual funds.

Other operating income rose by Bt72.1 million (30.1 per cent) from a gain on sales of available for sale securities.

Operating expenses increased by Bt186 million (10.6 per cent), mainly from higher expenses from properties for sale and personnel cost, partially offset by lower expenses from premises and equipment.

This resulted in a higher cost to income ratio of 57.2 per cent in 3M2018 compared to 55.8 per cent in 3M2017.

The Net Interest Margin over earning assets stood at 3.98 per cent in 3M2018, compared to 3.77 per cent in 3M2017, from more efficient funding cost management.

The company said the event would give Thai companies the chance to showcase their new products and gain greater market shares.

It said “quality” foreign buyers from around the world would be attending, seeking out the latest trends in the industry, and firms would also be looking for potential business partners.

Workshops and seminars are planned each day at the event, an expanded version of last year’s successful inaugural “ASEANbeauty”.

Firms from 50 countries will be setting up more than 350 booths.

Net interest income increased by Bt608 million or 2.63 per cent, mainly due to interest income from a repurchase agreement transaction, according to a press release on Friday.

The net interest margin (NIM) was 3.37.

However, non-interest income decreased by Bt405 million or 2.61 per cent, due mostly to a decrease in net insurance premiums, while net fees and service income increased by 4.71 per cent due to fees from fund management and loans related fee income, said the release

Other operating expenses increased by Bt765 million or 5.03 per cent from marketing expenses. That resulted in a cost-to-income ratio that stood at 41.20 per cent.

For this quarter, KBank set aside a lower allowance for impairment loss on loans in line with current circumstances.

For the first quarter of 2018, Bangkok Bank and its subsidiaries’ net interest income amounted to Bt17.1 billion, an increase of 5.2 per cent from the first quarter in 2017, with a net interest margin of 2.34 per cent.

Non-interest income was Bt14.4 billion, an increase of 31.8 per cent, due predominantly to an increase in net fees and service income and gains on investments. The increase in net fees and service income was mainly attributed to a rise in fee income from mutual funds and loan-related services.

The Bank’s operating expenses were Bt12.6 billion, an increase of 13.6 per cent, while the ratio of expenses to operating income dropped to 39.9 per cent. Consequently, net profit attributable to owners of the Bank was Bt9 billion, an increase of 8.4 per cent from the first quarter of last year.

Thailand is structurally transitioning into an innovation driven economy, with the government’s infrastructure development programme supporting the nation’s position as a logistics hub for the Southeast Asia region, according to the Bank’s release.

These developments serve to strengthen three major trends which have been guiding Bangkok Bank’s business direction in recent years –regionalisation, urbanisation and digitalisation.

The Bank’s business philosophy to be “puan koo kit mit koo baan” (a trusted partner and reliable close friend), and the Bank has positioned itself to support customers in a rapidly changing world, according t the release.

At the end of March 2018, the Bank’s loans amounted to Bt1.97 billion, a decrease of 1.3 per cent from the end of 2017, due to business and consumer loans, as well as loans made through the Bank’s international network. The ratio of non-performing loan (NPL) was 3.8 per cent. In line with what the Bank said is its “prudent approach of setting aside adequate provisioning expenses”, the Bank’s total allowances for doubtful accounts amounted to Bt146.8 billion to provide a cushion against any uncertainty or new regulations.

Shareholders’ equity as of March 31, 2018, amounted to Bt405.5 billion. The book value per share was Bt212.41, an increase of Bt1.96 from the end of 2017.

The five listed commercial banks on the plus side of the ledger posted solid growth in net profit for the first quarter.

LH Financial Group led the way with a jump of 31.56 per cent in net earnings from the same period of last year to Bt771.08 million.

For Bank of Ayudhya Plc, or Krungsri, its net profit of Bt6.2 billion was a record for the lender, up 10.1 per cent from the same quarter of last year.

TMB Bank Plc announced net profit of Bt2.27 billion for the quarter, up 8.61 per cent.

Tisco Financial Group raked in net profit of Bt1.76 billion, a jump of 18.12 per cent from the first quarter of 2017.

Thanachart Bank’s Bt3.7 billion in net profit marked a rise of 15.5 per cent from the same period last year.

Bucking the positive trend was Siam Commercial Bank Plc, which reported net profit of Bt11.36 billion for the three months, down 4.6 per cent from the year-earlier quarter.

Krungsri president and chief executive officer Noriaki Goto said that the bank has made a strong start to the year with its record earnings for a quarter. The result was a 9.4 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of last year.

The record result came despite the recurring seasonal impact generated by loan repayments in the first quarter, Goto said.

The solid performance was largely attributed to higher operating income and effective expense management, which underscores the bank’s competitive strengths and well-balanced portfolio. With the continued improvement in asset quality, the bank’s first-quarter non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was further reduced to 1.96 per cent, a fresh low since the Asian financial crisis, Goto added.

On the business outlook for 2018, Goto said the company expects the economic momentum to gain further traction, supported by sustained growth in export and tourism sectors together with the accelerated implementation of public infrastructure investments. These would provide catalysts for private investment and loan demand, he said.

“Under this favourable outlook, we maintain our GDP forecast of 4 per cent, which will contribute to Krungsri’s broad-based loan growth in the range of 6-8 per cent for 2018,” Goto said.

TMB Bank Plc’s CEO Piti Tantakasem said yesterday that the bank’s results for the quarter showed momentum in both deposit and loan growth as well as the lender’s prudent management of asset quality.

TMB generated Bt5.109 billion of pre-provision operating profit (PPOP), which represented 7 per cent growth from the same period last year. The bank set aside Bt2.305 billion for provisions to maintain coverage ratio at a high level of 142 per cent, while the NPL ratio stayed relatively low at 2.4 per cent. After provisions and tax, TMB reported net profit of Bt2.28 billion, a 9 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, performing loans grew by 0.4 per cent to Bt628 billion, driven mainly by the retail segment as mortgages continued to grow, by 4 per cent, in the first quarter. The momentum on mortgage is a result of process improvement and more efficient turnaround time, Piti said, On the commercial lending side, large corporate lending registered 2 per cent growth and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continued their recovery momentum with 1 per cent growth from the previous quarter.

Overall, TMB generated total operating income of Bt9.383 billion, a 5 per cent increase, while operating expenses were Bt4.265 billion, an increase of 4 per cent, he said.

Thanachart Bank Plc’s chief executive officer and president Somjate Moosirilert said that in the first quarter of this year its customer-focused strategy continued to produce strong results, with earnings growing for a 30th straight quarter.

“We have continue to create and deliver value to our customers while driving top-quartile efficiency gains,” he said. “Our market leading position in hire purchase loans grew almost 9 per cent and we registered good gains in our retail franchise, particularly in the SME segment. Our risk culture is strong, our NPL ratio continues to be among the best in the sector, and we remain well capitalised with a capital adequacy ratio of 18.8 per cent.”

The modules, which would fit inside the aircraft’s cargo compartments, would offer new opportunities for additional services to passengers, improving their experience while enabling airlines to differentiate and add value for their commercial operations.

The ideas is for the new passenger modules to be easily interchangeable with regular cargo containers during a typical turnaround if required.

Moreover, the aircraft’s cargo floor and cargo loading system would not be affected, as the passenger module will sit directly on it, said Christophe Bernardini, CEO of Zodiac Aerospace Cabin Branch, yesterday.

By 2020, airlines will be initially able to choose from alternative designs for Airbus A330 retrofits and line-fit markets.

The A350XWB airliner is also being studied for suitability. The innovation builds on the experiences of both Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace’s in producing and integrating lower-deck crew-rest facilities.