KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group) posted a net loss of RM3.83 billion in the financial year ended March 31, 2021 (FY2021) from a net profit of RM1.34 billion posted in FY2020.
Revenue fell 9.8 per cent to RM8.41 billion from RM9.32 billion previously, AmBank Group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The group said fund based income from interest bearing assets decreased mainly from interest on fixed income securities and on loans, financing and advances, while funding costs decreased attributable to lower interest expense on deposits from customers and financial institutions, securities sold under repurchase agreements, term funding and debt capital.
It said interest income from customer lending decreased attributable to lower hire purchase financing, housing loans attributable to the decrease in Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) and net loss from measures implemented in response to Covid-19 pandemic.
AmBank Group chief executive officer Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said FY2021 has been a challenging year for AmBank, but the group managed to record solid income growth of 7.7 per cent to RM4.55 billion, reflecting the strength of it’s diverse franchise and effective cost management strategy.
“Against a challenging economic backdrop, our financial results were materially impacted by one-off exceptional items totalling RM4.77 billion and higher impairment charges of RM1.14 billion mainly due to the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
“Core profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI), excluding the exceptional items and related legal and professional expenses, of RM961.6 million was 28.3 per cent lower year on year as a result of increased overlay provisions,” he said.
On eight strategies focused, Sulaiman said AmBank Group have a viable franchise with a good business model and over the past years had consistently put systems and processes in place.
“Now is the time to capitalise on the groundwork we have established. I am pleased to note that our loans and current account and savings account (CASA) growth has been encouraging.
“We will continue to fine-tune our growth agenda in the targeted segments including deepening our reach in the small and medium enterprises (SME) segment via holistic integration of digital solutions and partnerships,” he added.
He said the group’s focused offerings include SME-in-a-box as well as the provision of Industrial Revolution 4.0, digitalisation and halal certification support for SMEs via the third season of AmBank BizRACE. — Bernama
