Apr 2006 Financial News

Republic Releases Half Year Results

Apr 28, 2006

Republic Bank Limited reported Earnings Per Share of $2.32 for the half year ended March 31, 2006 down 12.45 per cent from 2005’s Earnings Per Share of $2.65. The half year results for 2005 were affected by two non-recurring items, namely the unrealized gain in RBL’s shareholdings in First Caribbean Bank of $231 million and the write off of goodwill of $124 million on the Bank’s acquisition in the Dominican Republic. Hence, Profit Before Tax was down 4.56 per cent to $522.906 million in 2006 while Profit Attributable to Shareholders dropped 12.03 per cent to $371.271 million. The Group would have however achieved 17.8 per cent growth in core operational profit had it not been for the two non-recurring items mentioned before.

The Board of Directors has approved an interim dividend of 77 cents to be paid on June 2, 2006. At the current price of $88.50, RBL is trading at a running price earnings ratio of 18.79. At this price, we recommend a HOLD on the share.