KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a net profit of RM1.96 billion for the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2021, more than double the RM941.73 million recorded in the same period last year.
In a statement today, South-east Asia’s fourth largest bank by assets said its earnings improved as loans continued to grow, net interest margin expanded from a more cost-effective funding mix, and impairments came in lower compared with a year earlier.
However, revenue declined to RM11.34 billion versus RM11.79 billion previously.
The group recorded a steady growth in net operating income to RM6.17 billion for the quarter, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, while its net impairment losses fell to RM567.2 million compared with RM1.74 billion in the same period last year.
For the cumulative six-month period (H1) ended June 30, 2021, the group saw its net profit surged to RM4.35 billion from RM2.99 billion previously, while revenue slipped to RM23.56 billion from RM25.03 billion previously.
The group also saw its net fee-based income ease 16.5 per cent to RM3.50 billion from RM4.19 billion in the corresponding period last year, owing primarily to lower investment disposal gains and marked-to-market losses, it said.
Maybank’s board has declared a first interim dividend of 28 sen per share to be made under its dividend reinvestment plan.
“This dividend comprises 14 sen per share to be paid in cash and an electable portion of 14 sen per share which can be reinvested into new ordinary shares or paid in cash.
“The dividend payout to shareholders amounts to some RM3.27 billion or 75.2 per cent of the half-year net profit of RM4.35 billion,” it said.
On the group’s liquidity and capital strength, Maybank said it continued to maintain a healthy liquidity position with an liquidity coverage ratio of 137.2 per cent and loan-to-deposit ratio of 89.3 per cent.
In terms of loans growth, Maybank said its Malaysian operations registered a steady 4.7 per cent expansion in gross loans for H1 2021, outpacing the industry growth of 3.4 per cent.
In Singapore, the loans growth registered 8.7 per cent upward trend in H1 2021, outpacing industry growth of 2.1 per cent, while Indonesia registered a 15.0 per cent decline as the economy continued to be impacted by the pandemic.
Maybank said its gross impaired loans ratio declining to 2.18 per cent in June 2021 from 2.49 per cent in June 2020, while its loan loss coverage as at June 2021 continued to register further improvement, reaching 114.8 per cent from 90.5 per cent a year earlier.
On the group’s Islamic banking business, Maybank said its pre-tax profit rose to RM2.34 billion in H1 2021 compared with RM861.6 million a year earlier, and the segment saw total gross financing rising to RM211.1 billion.
“As at June 2021, Islamic financing constituted 63.8 per cent of Maybank’s total domestic financing, with Maybank Islamic ranking No 1 in Malaysia in terms of market share of Islamic assets at 29.3 per cent,” it said.
On its Etiqa Insurance and Takaful business, Maybank said the segment registered a 6.9 per cent rise in net operating income to RM919.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, Maybank said as at August 2021, some 27.1 per cent of total financing in Malaysia was offered under its repayment assistance, relief and rescheduling and restructuring (R&R) programmes, with 15.3 per cent in Indonesia and 6.1 per cent in Singapore.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, chairman Tan Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said the group remained cautious about the overall regional growth momentum given the sudden resurgence in Covid-19 cases in the last few months.
“Nonetheless, Maybank remains committed to assisting those affected through our financial solutions as well as community support so that we can all navigate safely through this pandemic,” he said.
Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said given the expectation for a more challenging second half, the group would continue its strategy of focusing on robust risk management, strengthening its capital and growing its current and savings accounts (CASA) deposit base to provide sufficient buffers for unexpected events.
“Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen our digital capabilities and pursuit of innovation, as well as accelerate our sustainability commitments which we believe will provide us the competitive edge in pursuing our growth agenda,” he said. — Bernama
