Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S. A.
Q4 2014 Earnings Call Transcript

Published: 12 Feb 2015

[Operator:]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Bladex Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2014 Conference Call. On today, the 12th of February, 2015, this call is being recorded and is for investors and analysts only. If you are a member of the media, you are invited to listen only. Bladex has prepared a PowerPoint presentation to accompany their discussion. It is available through the webcast and on the bank's corporate website, at www.bladex.com. Joining us today are Mr. Rubens Amaral, Chief Executive Officer of Bladex; and Mr. Christopher Schech, Chief Financial Officer. Their comments will be based on the earnings release, which was issued yesterday. A copy of the long version is available on the corporate website. Any comments made by the executive officers today may include forward-looking statements. These are defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They are based on information and data that is currently available. However, the actual performance may differ due to various factors, which are cited in the Safe Harbor statement in the press release. And with that, I am pleased to turn the call over to Mr. Rubens Amaral for his presentation.

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

Thank you, David. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. I am very pleased to share with you the results we have achieved in the fourth quarter and the full year of 2014. As I have already mentioned in my comments in our press release yesterday, we continue to strengthen our core business by boasting solid growth in our credit portfolio, 10% year-over-year; by continuing to diversify our revenue streams, exhibiting sustainable and increased fee income further [ph] increasing [ph] the year; by keeping our commitment to improve efficiency [indiscernible] 28.1% for the fourth quarter and 31.8% for the full year; and last but not least, by keeping our focus on sound risk and liquidity management. These results were achieved in a very challenging year, as 2014 was marked by an important slowdown of economic growth across the region, lower trade and more volatility in the capital markets caused by uncertainties in the more mature markets and largest emerging economies. Christopher will provide you with the detailed information about our performance. Let me now share the main factors impacting the scenario for Latin America in 2015. As most of the challenges we faced last year still remain, we need to consider carefully the following

[Christopher Schech:]

All right. Thank you, Rubens. Hello, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the call today. In discussing our fourth quarter and full year results, I will focus on the main aspects that impacted our results, and I will make reference to the earnings call presentation that we have uploaded to our website, together with the earnings release and which is being webcast as we speak. Before we go into more detail, let's start on pages 4 to 6 with a quick rundown of the key financial highlights and drivers that shaped this quarter and the year 2014. The fourth quarter 2014 closed with net income to Bladex shareholders of $36.1 million compared to $26.6 million in the previous quarter and compared to $23.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full year 2014, we reached net income of $106.9 million compared to $84.8 million in 2013, which represents an increase of 26% year-on-year. In order to accurately present performance in our recurring business activity, we focus on business net income, which is recurring net income derived from our principal business activities of financial intermediation, which generate interest, commission and fee income. We also refer to it as core income or income from core activities. And this business net income reached $30.5 million in the fourth quarter, up 17% from $26 million in the third quarter, mainly due to net interest income growth brought about by the growth of our average commercial portfolio balances and due to higher fee income from our restructuring and syndication activities. Business net income was up 12% compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full year 2014, business income reached $103.5 million, an increase of $14 million or 16% [ph] over the previous year. Net interest margin remained relatively stable, 1 basis point below the previous quarter level, but it is 23 basis points above the level seen in the fourth quarter of a year ago. For the full year 2014, net interest margin reached 187 basis points. That is up 12 basis points versus the previous year. In similar fashion, the net interest spread, which represents the difference between average interest rates earned versus average rates paid, dropped, again, 1 basis point quarter-on-quarter but rose 25 basis points year-on-year. Full year interest spread was at 171 basis points, up 16 basis points from the prior year. Business return on assets and return on equity metrics increased quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year because of the volume margin and spread drivers I mentioned before. The business efficiency ratio was 32% in the fourth quarter 2014, 2 points above the previous quarter but nearly 3 points below prior year levels. For the full year 2014, the business efficiency ratio was 32%, again, some 5 points below the level reached in 2013. Our Tier 1 Basel I capitalization continues to be comfortable, reaching 15.3% at the end of the fourth quarter, slightly higher compared to the previous quarter and slightly below the level of the fourth quarter of a year ago. This quarter, we make the move to report Tier 1 Basel III numbers going forward, and the Basel III ratio stood at 15.6% at the end of the year 2014, slightly above the Basel I level. So let's look into quarterly and full year results in a bit more detail, moving to the next slide, Page 7, which shows the evolution of net income compared to the previous quarter and compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Net interest income rose 4% compared to the third quarter 2014, benefiting from higher average loan portfolio balances and stable net margins. There was a lesser net change in the provision line this quarter, owing to relatively stable end-of-period portfolio balances. Noncore income, which mainly represents the participation in the investment funds, was positive, as the turnaround performance, which started in the third quarter, picked up considerably -- considerable pace in the fourth quarter. Fee income also picked up on the back of foreclosed transactions in our structuring and syndication business, and increased activity in secondary markets were reduced again from the sale of corporate loans. These fee income drivers are partly offset by lower fee contribution from the letters of credit business, which saw higher average balances of lower average margins, as we continue to shy away from overly risky markets. Quarterly expenses were up a bit this quarter as is oftentimes the case for us in fourth quarters, mainly through adjustments made to accruals for variable compensation and due to professional fees. Year-on-year, quarterly net income was even more substantially ahead, up 51% compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Net interest income was a significant driver for that, as we grew average portfolio balances, net interest spread and net interest margin. Fee income increased year-on-year based on the same drivers I mentioned just a minute ago. The change in provision for loan losses is mainly driven by new reserve requirements from higher portfolio balances and the absence of recoveries this quarter. As mentioned earlier, noncore results performed nicely this quarter compared to losses in the fourth quarter of a year ago. And operating expenses were slightly higher compared to a year ago, again, mainly from higher variable compensation and professional fees. On Page 8, we look at the full year net income evolution, and we basically have the same story here

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

Thank you, Christopher. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are ready for your questions.

[Operator:]

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Chris Delgado with JPMorgan.

[Christopher Delgado:]

I had 2 quick questions. My first question relates to fees. That's been a good business for you guys. It's something that's been a focal point for you. And I just wanted to get a sense of what are your thoughts on fee growth for 2015 and just kind of the long term? And then my other question relates just to growth opportunities in general. Loan growth, 8% to 10% is pretty good, especially given regional GDP, but any thoughts on maybe risks to that number? What are potential upsides for that number? Those are my 2 questions.

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

Thank you, Chris. First of all, fee income growth, you saw that we had a solid year 2014 with 38% growth in our fee income business. As I mentioned, the syndications business has a solid pipeline of new deals, which points to us that we can experience another year of growth in our fee income. It is difficult to say to you how much we would expect of fee income growth in this sense, because you know that this is going to be a challenging year. The pipeline looks solid, but we have the process of continue to develop this business activity, and eventually, have the deals done. This is the beginning of the year. This is the slowest quarter of the year, as you know. So we are optimistic that the demand is there. There will be possibilities of continue to develop this growth. But I would wait until next quarter to give you a more solid guideline in terms of the fee growth for this particular business. What I can tell you is that, as Christopher alluded in his comments, letters of credit business, which has been important for us, it is a little more volatile now these days, as we are managing the risks we have in the region. So we don't see a lot of upside in terms of growing our traditional letters of credit fee business, but we do see the potential to grow on the syndications. And also, as we continue to generate more activity in the secondary market, which leads me to your question of growth opportunities, we'll be able to rotate our portfolio more quickly. So in that sense, as I told you in my initial remarks, the growth will be diverse in different countries. And we are very optimistic in Mexico. In fact, a big chunk of our growth can be -- can come from Mexico. We've given you a very conservative guidance, 8% to 10%, but as we move forward during the year and as these trends confirm in Mexico, Central America and the Indian countries that I mentioned, Chile, Colombia and Peru, eventually, we might get some upside in that growth projections and increase a little bit up to 12%, I would say. But I wouldn't see more than 12% for the whole year in 2015.

[Christopher Delgado:]

Okay, great. That's really helpful. Just kind of one more question relating to fees. Is there any particular country concentration where you guys see most of your business being done in terms of diversification?

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

Diversification of income?

[Christopher Delgado:]

Yes, is it coming from particular -- is it all Central America, mainly Mexico? Is it scattered across the whole region? I just want to get...

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

It is well spread. Of course, because of the value-added we have for financial institutions and the smaller financial institutions, that tends to be a consideration of this industry. We have seen more deals in terms of financial institutions. And basically, what we expect is that the increase this year will come from Central America and Peru.

[Operator:]

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Jeremy Hellman with Singular Research.

[Jeremy Hellman:]

Just one question going back to Slide 11, where you go through the exposure by industry, just wondering what sort of read-through you have with the financial institution bucket in terms of their exposure breakdowns.

[Christopher Schech:]

We don't -- sorry, I didn't...

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

The breakdown of the financial industry.

[Christopher Schech:]

Okay. As you know, Jeremy, Bladex started off as a lender to banks. For the first 20, 25 years of our existence, our only client base were financial institutions, and so we can basically say that we know each and every single institution of relevance in across the entire region. So that makes our bank book, our lending to financially institutions, very diversified. It goes from Mexico all the way down to Argentina, Chile. Of course, the larger the country is and the better bank it is by international institutions, maybe the case of Mexico, our penetration level in financial institutions may be less. It would certainly be greater in the smaller countries, all through Central American countries and the Caribbean, but we have an important presence in places like Peru, Colombia and Brazil. So I would say it's a fairly well-diversified book of business.

[Operator:]

[Operator Instructions] Okay. At this time, we have no other questions. I will turn it over back to Mr. Amaral for closing remarks.

[Rubens V. Amaral:]

Thank you very much, David. Thanks for your attention today, ladies and gentlemen. As I have stated in my last call in 2014, we are looking with enthusiasm to a challenging but successful 2015, as the combination of our regional footprint plus our trade finance expertise positions Bladex to make the best out of the challenging economic environment. I am looking forward to sharing with you our first quarter results in April. That's all. Have a good day. Thank you very much.

[Operator:]

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect your phone lines, and thank you for joining us this morning.