MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Grupo Financiero Banorte reported on Tuesday a 9% increase in first-quarter net profit from the year-ago period, citing growth in its loan book.
Net profit for the quarter hit 14.21 billion pesos ($859.48 million).
Net interest income, the difference between what banks earn on loans and dole out in deposits, grew 10% year-over-year on the larger loan book, which also benefited from higher interest rates.
Nearly all loan sectors showed double-digit growth year-over-year, Banorte said. Revenue for the group, which owns one of the country’s largest banks and pension funds, totaled 37.038 billion pesos in the quarter, up 15% from a year earlier. Return on equity jumped to 22.2%, up 134 basis points from the fourth quarter, which Banorte attributed to seasonality in the insurance business.
Non-financial expenses in the quarter dropped, Banorte said, as the firm had paid out previously planned labor expenses and early amortizations in the fourth quarter. ($1= 16.5310 Mexican pesos at the end of March)
