KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) has returned to the black with a net profit of RM63.41 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Q1 2021) against a net loss of RM73.25 million recorded in the same quarter last year.
Revenue, however, fell to RM680.98 million from RM741.41 million previously.
“The company recorded profit for the current quarter as opposed to loss for the first quarter last year mainly due to lower funding costs and lower net allowance for impairment,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
President and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini Othman said MBSB had to withstand the economic pressure due to the movement control order (MCO) and there were a few factors that affected its profitability.
However, he said trade finance remained active with the disbursement of more than RM900 million in Q1 2021.
Therefore, he said MBSB is confident of managing the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic despite the highly uncertain economic environment.
“Based on the recently announced MCO 3.0, we do expect further financial pressure on some of our customers but MBSB Bank will continue to assist them. We will also work on improving our retail segment by providing customers an enriched digital banking capability,” he added. — Bernama
