KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd posted a three per cent higher net profit to RM4.41 billion for the first nine months ended Sept 30 2022.
This was buoyed by higher net interest income growth and lower loan impairment allowances, and after taking into account the one-off impact of prosperity tax, Public Bank said.
Public Bank founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said it had tapped in the growing local economy.
"Despite the prolonged headwinds in the global economy, the Malaysian economy remained on the recovery trajectory, mainly supported by improving domestic demand. Tapping on the growing economy, the Public Bank Group's pre-tax profit improved by 13.5 per cent for the first nine months of 2022, compared with the corresponding period in 2021," Teh said in a statement today.
He said the nine-month profit growth was mainly due to higher net interest income growth by 7.7 per cent and lower loan impairment allowances by 70 per cent, but partially offset by lower non-interest income by 11.0 per cent.
The group's total loans and deposits continued to achieve healthy annualised growth of 5.8 per cent to RM373.6 billion and 4.5 per cent respectively.
It sustained a resilient net return of equity of 12.4 per cent and efficient cost-to- income ratio of 32.6 per cent.
Public Bank announced a second interim dividend of 4.0 sen per share, resulting in a total dividend payout of RM776.4 million.
The second interim dividend will be paid on Dec 23 based on the dividend entitlement date of Dec 15.
The bank's domestic loans grew at an annualised rate of 5.2 per cent to RM347.8 billion, mainly supported by residential properties and hire purchase financing which expanded at an annualised rate of 7.4 per cent and 9.9 per cent respectively.
On deposit-taking, the group's total customer deposits achieved an annualised growth of 4.5 per cent to RM393.3 billion during the same period.
Domestic deposits rose by an annualised rate of 4.5 per cent to RM364.6 billion, mainly supported by current and fixed deposits which grew by an annualised rate of 7.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively.
For the nine months, the group's non-interest income was lower by 11 per cent, largely due to the lower unit trust fees, stockbroking income as well as investment income amid the unfavourable market conditions.
Teh said overseas operations contributed 7.6 per cent to the group's profit, mainly attributed to its Hong Kong and Indochina operations.
"The group continues to see good business opportunities in Indochina, particularly in Vietnam. In the first nine months of 2022, Public Bank Vietnam's profit grew favourably by 13.4 per cent as compared with the corresponding period last year."
