By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The enlarged Ansbacher (Bahamas) appears to have turned the corner after a second merger in six years, engineering an almost-$5 million profit reversal after incurring successive losses.
The ‘offshore’ bank’s turnaround follows the 93 per cent expansion of its total assets last year, which largely stems from its 2014 acquisition of Finter Bank & Trust (Bahamas).
Its integration into Ansbacher (Bahamas) resulted in the combined bank’s revenues increasing by 91.2 per cent year-over-year, from $9.568 million in 2013 to $18.296 million last year.
This growth resulted in Ansbacher (Bahamas) producing a profit for the first time in several years, with an $896,809 net loss in 2013 transformed into a $4.077 million profit for 2014.
The improvement was disclosed in the annual financials for the bank’s affiliate, BISX-listed Colina Holdings (Bahamas), which saw its $222,147 share of Ansbacher (Bahamas) 2013 net losses transformed into a $679,651 profit slice in 2014.
Colina Holdings (Bahamas) and its main subsidiary, life and health underwriter Colina Insurance Company, hold 7 per cent and 12 per cent equity stakes, respectively, in Ansbacher (Bahamas).
Both companies have invested $3 million and $5 million, respectively, in their offshore bank affiliate, and 2014 is the first time they have earned a return on that investment.
Their additional capital contributions of $124,473 and $213,382 respectively in Ansbacher’s parent company, SBL Ltd [Sentinel Bahamas], to help finance the Finter Bank & Trust (Bahamas) purchase appear to have thus been both timely and profitable.
“The funds were used by SBL’s subsidiary, Ansbacher Bahamas, to partially fund the acquisition of Finter Bank and Trust (Bahamas). Colina Holdings and Colina’s percentage ownership in SBL, after the capital contribution, remained at 7 per cent and 12 per cent respectively,” Colina Holdings’ 2014 financial statements said.
As a result of the acquisition, Ansbacher (Bahamas) balance sheet near doubled to $768.802 million at year-end 2014, up 93 per cent from the previous year’s $398.432 million.
Liabilities rose by 98.9 per cent, from $370.564 million to $737.313 million, with Ansbacher (Bahamas) net assets growing by almost 13 per cent, increasing from $27.868 million to $31.489 million.
Ansbacher (Bahamas) was initially formed from its acquisition by the A. F. Holdings financial conglomerate, and the subsequent merger/integration of the latter’s Sentinel Bank & Trust with its own operations. Finter is the latest addition.
Also profitable in 2014 was Colina Holdings (Bahamas) 30 per cent equity stake in Walk-In Holdings, the owner/operator of the three Walk-In medical clinics on New Providence.
The insurer’s net income share, though, remained relatively flat, standing at $216,597 for 2014 compared to $223,534 for the year before.
This resulted from relatively flat profits for Walk-In Holdings, which were down slightly at $731,460 for the year compared to $745,114 in 2013,
It was a similar picture for the company’s top-line, which equalled $7.018 million in 2014 compared to $7.105 million in 2013.
Walk-In Holdings’ balance sheet improved, though, as total assets increased from $8.535 million in 2013 to $8.771 million last year, with liabilities dropping to $913,665 from $1.232 million.
As a result, the company’s net equity increased by more than $550,000, increasing to $7.858 million compared to $7.303 million in its 2013 financial year.
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