Hong Leong Bank’s Q4 net profit up 14%

PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Bank Bhd's net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2015 rose 14.4% to RM614.85 million from RM537.45 million in the previous corresponding period, buoyed by higher net income of RM34.4 billion, write-back of impairment losses from securities of RM9.2 million and better contribution of RM21.1 million from Bank of Chengdu in China.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 3.42% to RM1.04 billion from RM1 billion.
Hong Leong Bank has proposed a final dividend of 26 sen per share.
In a statement yesterday, Hong Leong Bank managing director and CEO Tan Kong Khoon opined that the banking sector will remain stable amid more moderate growth in loans and deposits.

"Protection of our business franchise and profitability will continue to be key priorities," he said.
Hong Leong Bank's gross loans and financing expanded by 8.9% year-on-year for the fourth quarter to RM113.4 billion.
Hong Leong Bank's key asset quality indicators continued to outperform the industry's with gross impaired loans ratio improving significantly by 35 basis points to a record low of 0.84% in the fourth quarter.
Full-year net interest margin came within expectation at 2.01% despite persistent competition for loans and deposits.
On a full-year basis, Hong Leong Bank's net earnings were up 6.23% to RM2.23 billion from RM2.10 billion a year before. Revenue was flat at RM4.07 billion against RM4.04 billion.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd reported a 2.0% drop in net profit to RM441.25 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2015 from RM450.26 million over the same period last year.
Revenue for the quarter rose 5.39% to RM1.22 billion from RM1.16 billion.
Full-year net profit dipped 5.05% to RM1.62 billion from RM1.71 billion on the back of a 1.28% drop in revenue to RM4.49 billion from RM4.55 billion.