KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) registered a net profit of RM1.86 billion in the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2022, 5.4 per cent lower than the net profit of RM1.96 billion recorded in the same quarter last year.
In a statement today, Southeast Asia's fourth largest bank by asset said the lower net profit was owing mainly to higher net impairment charges.
Maybank said it had also decided to increase the expected credit loss for loans and securities to RM1.16 billion as a pre-emptive measure to mitigate any potential need arising from heightened geopolitical events.
"As a result, pre-tax profit for the quarter eased 2.2 per cent to RM2.67 billion from a year earlier while net profit came in 5.4 per cent lower at RM1.86 billion after the group booked in net impairment charges of RM1.16 billion compared with RM567.2 million last year.
"Overhead costs, meanwhile, were prudently managed, growing at a moderate pace of 4.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
"This was attributable mainly to IT and revenue-related costs as the group leveraged the increased mobility and regional economic activity to tap growth opportunities," it said.
Its revenue in Q2 eased marginally at 1.2 per cent to RM11.2 billion from RM11.34 billion.
For the six-month period, Maybank's net profit decreased 10.4 per cent to RM3.9 billion from RM4.35 billion, while revenue eased 1.8 per cent to RM23.12 billion from RM23.56 billion.
The group said for the period, its net operating income rose 2.3 per cent to RM13.30 billion from RM13 billion previously as net fund-based income expanded 6.1 per cent to RM10.08 billion on the back of loans growth across all home markets and net interest margin expansion from a rising rate environment.
However, it said the growth in net operating income was mitigated by lower net fee-based income, which declined 7.7 per cent to RM3.23 billion from RM3.50 billion in the first half (1H) of FY21.
"This was owing primarily to lower fee income across most business segments as a result of continued weak and volatile markets," it added.
Maybank declared a single-tier first interim dividend of 28 sen per share, comprising a cash portion of 21 sen and an electable portion of seven sen per share under the group's Dividend Reinvestment Plan.
This translates into a total amount of RM3.35 billion in payout to shareholders, constituting 85.9 per cent of net profit for the half-year.
Maybank group president and chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said the group had emerged even more resilient post-pandemic, recording stable growth across its key business segments and building better all-round readiness to meet any challenges with confidence.
"We will remain disciplined in maintaining our strong liquidity and capital positions which have given us the ability to navigate through the difficult operating environment.
"At the same time, we are committed to supporting our customers through the current recovery phase, particularly as we are faced with a rising interest rate environment.
"We will also be ramping up our digital capabilities regionally and driving our sustainability agenda as these will be key in fulfilling our growth agenda," he said.