KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Bank Bhd’s net profit surged to RM144.56 million in the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2018 from RM39.9 million recorded in the same quarter a year ago.
The bank’s revenue in the same quarter increased to RM496.24 million from RM327.95 million previously.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, Affin Bank said the improved group performance was driven by the increase in net fee and commission income, Islamic banking income, net gain on financial instruments and other operating income.
Its group chief executive officer Kamarul Ariffin Mohd Jamil the bank made progress with the implementation of its strategy in a number of areas during the quarter and focused on making it a high performing diversified bank.
“Looking ahead, with a balanced growth strategy we expect our loan growth to accelerate, driven by the combination of a robust pipeline and investments that we have made in proprietary banking technologies and also expanding our commercial platforms,” he said in a separate statement.
For the nine months, Affin’s net profit increased to RM359.34 million from RM248.32 million, while revenue jumped to RM1.47 billion from RM1.03 billion.
Affin Bank has declared a single-tier interim dividend of five sen per share for the financial year ending December 31, 2018.
The bank will continue to leverage on its strengths to further develop its business and improve its market position by focusing on opportunities in the retail, small and medium enterprises (SME) and corporate banking amidst the headwinds.
“The bank will also remain focused in its pursuits of operational excellence, whilst safeguarding strong governance, compliance and risk culture. In line with the rapid development in digital banking landscape, the group will continue to accelerate its digital banking solutions and further improve its innovativeness in offering financial solutions for better customer experience,” it said.