KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
is poised to close out the year on a strong footing and delivering on all its targets after a strong third quarter that registered higher top- and bottom-lines.
In the quarter ended Sept 30, 2025, CIMB said net profit rose to RM2.08bil from RM2.03bil in the year-ago quarter, translating to an earnings per share of 19.32 sen from 18.98 sen previously.
The group reported quarterly revenue of RM5.95bil as compared to RM5.74bil in the previous corresponding quarter.
For the nine-month period to Sept 30, 2025, it reported net profit of RM5.94bil as compared to RM5.93bil in the same period in 2024. Revenue rose to RM17.05bil from RM16.97bil in the comparative period.
The board of directors declared a special dividend of seven sen per share, with entitlement date on Dec 15, 2025, and payable on Dec 24, 2025.
According to the group, operating income grew 6.2% on a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis. This was underpinned by a 20.3% q-o-q increase in non-interest income (NOII) to RM2.13bil.
It said net interest income was stable at RM3.82bil despite a series of rate cuts in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Group net interest margin (NIM) was resilient at 2.08% due to strategic repricing and proactive capital management from previous quarters, which mitigated the
impact of persistent rate cuts.
The group said total deposits grew 9.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM518.1bil, while current account savings account (Casa) balances rose 15.3% y-o-y, which brought the Casa ratio to 44.1% as at September 2025.
"This is attributable to the group’s Forward30 cash strategy which successfully cushioned NIM compression this year as a result of the persistent rate cuts," it said.
Meanwhile, gross loans expanded 3.3% y-o-y to RM448.2bil and assets grew 5.1% y-o-y to RM778.5bil.
Group CEO Novan Amirudin said the group's diversified portfolio and disciplined execution will continue to ensure it remained resilient despite the macroeconomic headwinds and challenges.
"While it may take some time for the dust to settle with the
new world order, we expect NIMs to stabilise and we will continue investing for long-term growth,” he said.
