Land Bank of the Philippines posted a 12% year-over-year increase in net income for the quarter ended March 31 to 4.75 billion Philippine pesos from 4.26 billion pesos.

The bank attributed the higher net income to a significant increase in income from loans and investments, according to a May 20 release. The bank said its first-quarter net income is 14% higher than its income target of 4.16 billion pesos for the period.

Interest income on loans surged 69% year over year as the lender's gross loan portfolio grew to 867.32 billion pesos from 708.10 billion pesos, while income from investments in financial assets rose to 6.36 billion pesos from 4.44 billion pesos.

Net interest margin for the quarter stood at 3.42%, while return on equity was 13.04%.

As of May 20, US$1 was equivalent to 52.76 Philippine pesos.