AmBank Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said:
KUALA LUMPUR: AMMB Holdings Bhd
posted a set of stronger financial results in the first quarter ended June 30, 2018, underpinned by higher net interest income (NII) and lower expenses.
The banking group announced on Tuesday its net profit rose by 5.9% to RM347.59mil from RM328.27mil. Revenue increased by 4.3% to RM2.17bil from RM2.08bil. Earnings per share were 11.56 sen from 10.92 sen.
It said income rose 3.2% to RM1.014bil, supported by higher net interest income (NII) (+4.7%). Net interest margin (NIM) was stable at 2.02%
AMMB said expenses fell by 7% to RM513mil, reflecting savings from lower headcount and business efficiency initiatives.
It recorded profit before provision (PBP) of RM501mil, which was an increase of 16.7%.
The banking group's return on equity (ROE) was 8.3%, return on assets (ROA) of 0.99%2 and basic earnings per share (EPS) of 11.56 sen
“Cost-to-income (CTI) ratio improved to 50.6% from 56.3 % in Q1FY18 Gross loans and financing grew 2.2% year-to-date (YTD) to RM98.4bil.
“Gross impaired loans (GIL) ratio of 1.77%, loan loss cover (LLC) ratio higher at 106.3% (FY18: 100.5%),” it said.
AmBank Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said: “After a year of putting in place a series of fundamental changes, we have today a solid platform to grow further, as our Q1FY19 results point to a reasonable start to the new fiscal year.
“Our Q1FY19 income growth was broad based. NIM remained stable at 2.02%. Our operating leverage improved with CTI of 50.6%. We saw a strong pre-provision profit growth of 16.7% compared to 3.2% in Q1FY18.
“At RM501mil, this is the highest profit before tax recorded since Q4FY15, a testament to the strength of our Top 4 strategy. Credit costs were still negligible considering our asset base. Overall, we recorded higher profitability and improved returns in Q1FY19.”
Sulaiman said that NII continued to grow steadily at 4.7% on-year to RM642mil, underpinned by consistent loans growth of 2.2% on a year-to date (YTD).
“Non-interest income (NoII) was flat on-year at RM372mil. Wealth management fee income continued to increase with a 8.7% growth on-year coupled with improved performance from our insurance business, mitigating global markets and investment banking results which were impacted by weaker market sentiments.
“As a result of our concerted efforts over the past year to implement a philosophy of stronger cost discipline, expenses were down 7% on-year to RM513mil,” he added.
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