KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd's net profit fell 8.2 per cent to RM158.42 million in the second quarter (Q2) ended Sept 30, 2022 from RM172.74 million a year ago due to higher allowance for expected credit losses.
However, the bank's revenue rose 6 per cent to RM480.57 million from RM452.98 million.
Alliance Bank declared a first interim dividend of 12 sen per share, representing a total dividend payout ratio of 50 per cent.
For the first half, Alliance Bank's net profit increased 16.3 per cent to RM370.6 million, while revenue rose two per cent to RM954.6 million from RM935.94 million.
During the quarter under review, the bank's net interest income grew 12.4 per cent to RM813 million due to higher loans volume and overnight policy rate (OPR) hike impact.
Its net interest margin improved 11 basis points (bps) to 2.64 per cent.
Alliance Bank's overall loans grew by 6.7 per cent, outpacing the industry average of 6.4 per cent.
The bank attributed the performance to the growth in small and medium enterprise (SME) banking, which rose 14 per cent year on year (yoy), and commercial banking, which increased 16.8 per cent yoy.
Customer-based funding was 8.4 per cent higher y-o-y, and current account savings account (CASA) ratio maintained at the top of industry at 48.7 per cent.
Alliance Bank group chief executive officer Kellee Kam said rthe bank was built on strong foundations.
Kam said the strategic priorities had guided the bank to achieve success and sustainable results in the SME sector.
"We will focus on broadening our strategy and expanding into new areas beyond SME to accelerate our business growth," he added.
Alliance Bank said its capital positions and liquidity remained strong.
Common Equity Tier-1 (CET 1) ratio was at 15.1 per cent, while Tier-1 Capital ratio was at 16.4 per cent.
Total capital ratio was at 20.5 per cent, wjile liquidity coverage ratio was at 164.4 per cent.
The bank's loan-to-fund ratio stood at 85.7 per cent.