PETALING JAYA: Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd
financial year 2027 (FY27) key performance indicators (KPI) appear modest, reflecting uncertainties stemming from current geopolitical tensions.
The KPI for FY27 includes loan growth of 8%, return on equity (ROE) of about 12% (FY26: 13.1%) and dividend payout of more than 30%.
AEON Credit’s fourth quarter of FY26 (4Q26) profit after tax and minority interest (Patmi) of RM144mil had beaten expectations due to lower-than-expected credit costs following a one-time adjustment. This brought FY26 Patmi to RM386mil.
RHB Research expects investors to keep a close watch on asset quality amid current uncertainties, but believes much of these concerns have already been priced in at 0.83 times FY27 price-to-book value.
“We believe the slower loan growth (for FY27) could be due to a more cautious stance given the ongoing geopolitical developments in the Middle East, among others.
“Our FY27 loan growth assumption is in line with AEON Credit’s KPI, while we project it to post FY27 ROE of 13.6% and assumed a payout of 40%,” the research house said in a note to clients.
Meanwhile, CIMB Research expects an earnings inflection from 2Q27, driven by tapering write-offs from weaker vintages and a potential restaging of Agensi Kaunseling & Pengurusan Kredit provision balances from Stage 3 to Stage 2, notwithstanding AEON Credit’s guidance of slower receivables growth.
CIMB Research said its investment thesis on AEON Credit remains consistent with its last report dated Dec 22, 2025.
“We remain constructive on AEON Credit’s earnings outlook as the legacy credit risks of some older and weaker receivables are in the final seasoning phase, the elevated write-offs, amounting to a run rate of RM60mil to RM65mil per month (currently at about 1.27% to 1.29% of receivables per quarter), are expected to taper in the second half of FY26.
“Coupled with remedial actions, tighter credit controls, and a focus on higher quality borrowers, this suggests that AEON Credit’s net credit cost could gradually normalise to 300 to 400 basis points (bps) in FY27 to FY29, versus the elevated FY26 level of 411.6 bps,” it added.
Both RHB Research and CIMB Research reiterated their “buy” calls on the stock.
Its shares were trading at RM5.70 at the time of writing.
