Hong Leong Bank's net profit falls 13.54% in Q4, declares 30 sen dividend

PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Bank Bhd's (HLBank) net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30 fell by 13.54% to RM482.92million from RM558.54 million a year ago due to higher operating expenses, higher allowance for impairment losses on loans, advances and financing, lower write back of impairment losses on financial investments and lower share of profit from joint venture .
The bank's revenue on the other hand jumped by 6.77% to RM1.15 billion from RM1.08 billion .
HLBank has proposed to declare a final dividend of 30 sen per share for the quarter under review.
It saw an improvement in earnings for the financial year ended June 30, with net profit rising 12.69% jump from RM1.9 billion to RM2.15 billion due to due to higher net income, lower operating expenses and higher share of profit from associated company .
Full-year revenue rose 8.92% to RM4.55 billion from RM4.18 billion.
The group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that it saw a loan growth of 3.8% year-on-year to RM125.1 billion, driven by its domestic, retain, SME and overseas operations.
The group said it continues to place strong emphasis on preserving strong asset quality as gross impaired loan ratio and loan impairment coverage ratio remained a prudent 0.96% and 96% respectively.
Meanwhile, its capital position remains robust with common equity tier-1, tier-1 and total capital ratios at 13.3%, 13.7% and 15.8% respectively.
Looking ahead, HLBank said the group remains focused on executing its strategy in building a high performance business and strengthening the foundation for sustainable profitability.
"At the same time, the bank remained focused on executing our digital strategy to transform and optimize our business to enhance customer experience and attain operational excellence," it added.
It is also of the view that sustained domestic demand on the back of the improvement in the Malaysian economy and recovery in external demand will be a pillar to its growth.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) reported a 34.2% decline in net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2017 from RM393.5 million to RM258.79 million, while revenue rose 5.5% from RM1.21 billion to RM1.27 billion.
Its full-year net profit expanded 10.9% from RM1.36 billion to RM1.51 billion, with revenue increasing 10.8% from RM4.54 billion to RM5.03 billion.
HLBank shares rose four sen to close at RM15.50 yesterday, while HLFG shares fell 16 sen to RM16.70.