Bank Mandiri's profit up 28.7% to $843.1m in H1 2018

Strong loan growth and higher fee-based income buoyed earnings.

Reuters reports that the profit of Indonesia’s PT Bank Mandiri Tbk jumped 28.7% YoY to $843.1m (IDR 12.2t) in the first half of the year amidst a pickup in lending and higher fee-based income.

The bank’s gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio also fell from 3.82% to 3.13% at the end of Q2 as the bank made good on its promise to tackle its bad debts after posting its worst profit in five years in 2016.

However, the bank remains wary of persistent rupiah weakness as it tries to look for other ways to finance its operations.

Also read: Can Indonesian banks survive the severe local currency depreciation?

“Mandiri needs 500 million USD in foreign currency,” CEO Kartika Wirjoatmodjo told media. “The bank is looking at global bonds, collateral loans with other banks, and repurchase agreements as options, we will decide in 1-2 months.”

Here’s more from Reuters: