Mandiri Posts Net Profit of Rp4.9 Trillion in First Quarter

Jakarta (Antara) - Bank Mandiri, Indonesia's largest lender by assets, posted a first-quarter net profit of Rp4.9 trillion, up 14.5 percent, from Rp4.3 trillion in the same period in the prior year. The profit in the January-March 2014 quarter was fueled by credit expansion, which rose 20.1 percent to Rp470.4 trillion from Rp391.6 trillion in the same period last year, the bank's director of financial strategies Pahala N Mansyuri said here on Monday. "The positive performance boosted the growth of the first-quarter net profit. In addition to credit growth, the increase in profit was also fueled by the fee-based income, which rose to Rp3.5 trillion in March," he added. The credit growth raised the bank's assets to Rp729.5 trillion from Rp640.6 trillion in March 2013, he said. In the first quarter of 2014, the amount of loans granted by the bank to the productive sector grew 22.8 percent to reach Rp356.8 trillion, with loans for investments and working capital increasing 15.7 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively, he noted. The amount of loans granted to the electricity, gas and water sector grew significantly by 34.1 percent and to the trade, restaurant and hotel sector rose 22.6 percent, he said. (*) Reporting by Citro Atmoko