KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd recorded an increase of 4.5 per cent in its net profit to RM3.6 billion, on the back of its highest-ever revenue of RM16.1 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, driven by continued momentum in the consumer franchise.
The group's gross loans and total deposit grew by 8.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.
"We expect our loan growth to rise between six and seven per cent this year, despite charting an 8.7 per cent growth for the 2016 financial year," said its group chief executive officer, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, at the results announcement here today.
"We do not expect much economic change in the Malaysian market this year from 2016, so growth would most likely be flat, year-on-year," he added.
The group's best performing segment remains the consumer sector, which contributed 46 per cent of its profit before tax (PBT) of RM4.88 billion, with Thailand posting its first annual profit since acquisition.
For the commercial banking side, both Malaysia and Indonesia performed well, although this was tempered by higher provisions in Singapore and Thailand.
Wholesale banking recorded a commendable 11.3 per cent growth in PBT, with strict cost controls and declining provisions.
"We are optimistic for 2017, on the back of sustainable loan growth, continued cost controls and expected improvement in provisions," said Tengku Zafrul.
"We will continue to instil cost discipline across all businesses to achieve our T18 Strategy target of cost-income-ratio (CIR) of 50 per cent by the end of 2018,” he added.
The group's CIR is currently at 53.9 per cent as of 2016, down from 55.6 per cent in 2015.