KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd’s net profit rose 7.4 per cent to RM5.79 billion for the nine months ended September 30 2018 from the RM5.39 billion recorded a year ago.
Its profit was boosted by higher net fund based income, disciplined cost management as well as a continued decline in impairments, Maybank said.
The group’s net operating income for the period stood at RM17.33 billion, or 0.8 per cent higher than a year earlier.
For the third quarter, Maybank’s net profit eased to RM1.96 billion from RM2.03 billion in the same period last year.
Revenue, however, increased to RM12.06 billion from RM11.59 billion previously, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The country’s largest bank by assets said its quarterly net operating income had seen a 3.3 per cent dip primarily as a result of continued global market volatility which dampened economic growth and demand in key segments.
Maybank chairman Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsudin said the period under review was marked by significant global uncertainty and market instabilities, which resulted in some measure of caution amongst customers, particularly corporates.
“Nevertheless, we remained focused on sound risk management as well as maintaining a robust capital and liquidity position, which helped us withstand much of the headwinds that persisted, particularly in the third quarter,” she said in a separate statement.
Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the prolonged geopolitical situation remained a key concern, as it would influence global growth, including Asia where Maybank has most of its operations.
“However, we believe that our solid franchise in the region as well as our strong fundamentals can help buffer us from much of the uncertainties that could arise in the future. We will remain agile to adjust to rapid market changes, while at the same time look for opportunities for growth, such as in infrastructure financing, wealth management, digital banking and Islamic banking.”
Maybank recorded steady loans growth across its key home markets with Indonesia operations growing 8.9 per cent year-on-year, Singapore 7.1 per cent, other international markets 11.9 per cent and Malaysia 4.9 per cent respectively.
This brings the overall group loans growth to 4.5 per cent for the nine months.
Maybank’s group gross deposits grew 3.8 per cent led by Malaysian operations at 6.7 per cent, followed by Singapore at 1.7 per cent while Indonesia saw a contraction of 7.2 per cent as part of the bank’s strategy in managing its cost of funding by reducing dependence on high cost time deposits.
Maybank said consistent efforts in maintaining an efficient balance between assets and liabilities had enabled it to contain pressures on its net interest margin which stood at 2.32 per cent as at September 2018, a marginal seven basis point dip from the 2.39 per cent a year earlier.
The group’s Islamic Banking business continued to perform strongly, with profit before tax for the nine months rising 3.3 per cent to RM2.03 billion on the back of a 10 per cent expansion in financing and advances and a 9.3 per cent increase in total income from a year earlier.
As at September 2018, Islamic financing constituted 58.3 per cent of Maybank’s total domestic financing.
Maybank Islamic also maintained its position as the top Islamic bank in Malaysia with a 30 per cent market share of Islamic assets in the country.