PETALING JAYA: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd
, which recorded a year-on-year (y-o-y) decline of 5.9% in net profit to RM253mil for the six months ended June 30, 2025 (1H25) is streamlining its operations by removing redundancies and consolidating resources for greater efficiency.
Bank Islam group chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Muazzam Mohamed said branch optimisation efforts were being implemented to simplify and strengthen market presence, to provide customers with a seamless banking experience across all touchpoints.
"Alongside these measures, Bank Islam has continued to invest strategically in technology, infrastructure, and innovation to future-proof the business," he said in a statement.
The group said the slight decline in 1H25 profitability was primarily due to the higher total overheads and net allowance for impairment and finance cost.
Overheads for the period expanded by 10.6% to RM830.8mil as the group continues to invest in human capital, digital, and technology initiatives.
Meanwhile, net allowance for impairment on financing and advances rose by 57.6%, primarily contributed by an increase in net new impaired financing. Accordingly, the financing credit cost increased to 0.35%.
Despite the rise in new impaired financing, the group maintained a strong asset quality, with its gross impaired financing ratio standing at 1.05% at the end of June 2025, well below the industry average of 1.42%.
Total net income rose 9.9% to RM1.4bil, spurred by an increase in non-fund-based income and strong growth in financing.
The performance translates to earnings per share of 11.16 sen and an annualised net return on equity of 7.1%. Total capital ratio remained robust at 20.3% as of June 30, demonstrating its strong capital position and continued financial resilience, Bank Islam said.
For the second quarter ended June 30, net profit came in at RM126.68mil, down from RM138.1mil a year ago. This translates to an EPS of 5.59 sen, from 6.09 sen in 2Q24.
