Amir Hisyam Rasid
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd is handing out a whopping 77.3 per cent of its more than RM8 billion net profit posted in 2018 as dividend to its shareholders.
Maybank, the fourth largest lender in Southeast Asia by asset size, announced a full-year dividend of 57 sen per share, after posting another record net profit of RM8.11 billion in the year ended December 31 2018.
This was the first time that the bank has breached the RM8 billion mark in net profit, since its establishment in 1960.
Following the 7.9 per cent growth in net profit, Maybank’s board of directors proposed final single-tier dividend of 32 sen per share. This comprises a 15 sen cash portion and a 17 sen electable portion which can be reinvested into new ordinary shares or paid in cash.
Together with the 25 sen interim dividend declared earlier, the full-year dividend payout of 57 sen per share amounts to RM6.3 billion or 77.3 per cent of net profit.
The total dividend payout also translates into a higher dividend yield of six per cent in comparison to 5.6 per cent in 2017.
Maybank expects robust domestic demands in key home markets this year that may help maintain its financial performance momentum.
The group, which operates in key countries namely Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, expects Malaysia's economy to grow slightly higher at 4.9 per cent and Indonesia's economic growth to be stable this year, which in turn will provide stable loan growth for the bank.
However, Mabank expects Singapore, being a more open economy, to register slower economic growth at 3.7 per cent from 5.3 per cent to be potentially impacted by external demand arising from the trade war and reduced expansion pace in China and European Union.
Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the bank expects respectable growth in the domestic markets although it remains cautious over the global environment.
"Within the domestic market in Malaysia, the demand is still robust. We have been seeing the same trend across the retail segment (mortgage, credit card etc).
"For non-retail, we hope to see a turnaround in business sentiments this year for businesses to start making investments. For Indonesia, minimum wage increase and stable inflation rate would boost the consumption this year," he told a media briefing here.
"There are potential challenges, sourced of which are from external demand. 2018 was a very difficult year for markets, we hope it does not repeat itself in 2019," he added.
Group gross loans, from three home markets namely Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, expanded at a faster pace of 4.8 per cent in FY18, a marked increase in comparison to the 1.7 per cent growth posted in FY17.
The Malaysian loan growth stood at 4.8 per cent, Singapore at 4.5 per cent and Indonesia at seven per cent while other international markets recorded a 10.9 per cent increase.
Deposits also expanded at a faster pace of 5.6 per cent compared with 1.8 per cent a year earlier, with emphasis remaining on lower cost Current Account Savings Account (CASA) deposits as part of an overall strategy to ensure efficient management of assets and liabilities.
This increased had help the group manage pressures on net interest margin (NIM) with FY18 NIM only marginally lower at 2.33 per cent from 2.36 per cent in FY17.
The group also reported a record net operating income of RM23.63 billion, on the back of a 3.1 per cent increase in fund based income, as a result of higher contributions from all business sectors and key home markets.
This more than offset the marginal dip of 1.8 per cent in fee based income which was mainly due to the weaker equity markets.