KUALA LUMPUR: BIMB Holdings Bhd's net profit rose 12.07 per cent to RM 180.86 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019 from RM161.38 million.
BIMB said this was due to the stronger performance in its Islamic banking and takaful businesses.
Group revenue for the quarter rose 9.42 to RM1.35 billion from RM1.224 billion previously.
For the full-year, BIMB’s net profit rose 15.37 per cent to RM786.92 million from RM682.06 million in 2018.
This was due to the 19.15 per cent increase in revenue to RM5.38 billion versus RM4.52 billion in 2018.
BIMB said Bank Islam Group’s profit before zakat and tax (PBZT) rose 4.1 per cent to RM843.5 million in FY19 from RM810.3 million previously.
The improvement was due to higher total income, resulting from a strong net financing growth more than double the industry’s average financing growth as well as an increase in investment securities.
BIMN said its strategic plan for the next three years was to deliver sustainable performance with a strategic focus on supporting economy, community and environment.
“The bank’s corporate direction is premised on VBI (Value-Based Intermediation), at the heart of the bank’s business model. With Shariah Principles/Halal and Trustworthy being our key distinctive features, the bank continues its journey in adopting VBI principles such as Triple Bottom Line considerations which consist of people, planet and prosperity.
“The bank is also committed to promote digital competency among our employees for the expected changes brought about by digitalisation,” it said.
On its takaful business, BIMB said Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) recorded a 23.9 per cent increase in PBZT to RM417.7 million for 2019, compared to RM337.0 million previously.
This was achieved through higher net wakalah fee income arising from the growth in the family takaful business and higher net investment income
BIMB said weaker global growth prospects and volatile capital outflows could weigh on Malaysian banks’ earnings and investment decision.
It expects loan growth to be around 4.0 per cent this year, from 3.9 per cent in 2019.
“The slight expansionary budget for 2020 is expected to lend support to private consumption with household and non-household financing growth likely to remain soft,” it added.