Profit jumps at Heartland Bank

Heartland Bank has released its disclosure statement for the nine months ending March 31, 2017. Unaudited net profit after tax was $44.9 million for the period, an increase of 13 per cent on the nine months ending March 2016. Heartland said the rise in profit was driven by a growth across its household, business and rural divisions. Net finance receivables grew $340.8 million, or 10.9 per cent, over the period, which led to a seven per cent increase in net operating income. The cost-to-income ratio was 42 per cent for the nine-month period, compared to 47 per cent in the corresponding nine months ending March 2016. Heartland said this showed the benefit of the scale of economies the bank achieved from recent growth. This latest announcement hasn’t changed profit forecasts for the year ending June 2017, and Heartland expect it to be at the upper end of $57 million to $60 million. Shares rose 1.7 per cent immediately following the news, with the price sitting at $1.77. The stock has risen 55 per cent in the past year.