Public Bank's share price flat despite jump in Q1 earnings

PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd’s share price fell marginally by 0.08% this morning despite reporting a 12.6% jump in its net profit to RM1.41 billion for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2018 against RM1.25 billion in the previous corresponding period, driven by the 4% and 15.6% growth in net interest income and non-interest income, respectively.
At 11.13am, Public Bank stood at RM23.92 with 1.13 million shares changing hands.
Its Q1 revenue was up 6.4% to RM5.35 billion from RM5.03 billion.
The bank said its total gross loans grew at an annualised rate of 3% in Q1, with domestic loans growing faster at 5%. Its gross impaired loans ratio was stable at 0.5% as at end-March against the 1.6% on the Malaysian banking industry.
Despite the implementation of MFRS 9 on Jan 1, 2018, Public Bank said, it did not result in any adverse impact to its capital position as the group has set aside large regulatory reserves.