KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd’s net profit for the first half of 2023 ended June 30, 2023 (H1’23) rose 29.5% to RM1.57 billion from RM1.21 billion in the same period last year.
Revenue increased to RM7.97 billion from RM5.76 billion previously.
For the second quarter of 2023 (Q2’23), RHB’s net profit increased to RM808.7 million from RM630.07 million a year ago, while revenue climbed to RM4.05 billion from RM2.95 billion in the same quarter last year.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, RHB said the better performance for H1’3 was mainly due to higher non-fund-based income and lower expected credit losses (ECL).
“Non-fund based income increased 46.3% to RM1.07 billion, primarily from higher net gain on forex and derivatives, and net trading and investment income.
“ECL reduced 144.4% primarily due to writeback of management overlay. Excluding writebacks, normalised credit cost stood at 0.21% compared with 0.27% for the same period last year,” the bank said.
However, RHB noted that its net fund-based income was lower by 10.4% to RM2.72 billion on the back of higher funding costs, mainly due to fixed deposits growth of 16.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) with net interest margin for the quarter at 1.82%.
The bank said its operating expenses increased 6.5% for H1’23 to RM1.8 billion, partly due to higher personnel costs from collective agreement adjustments and correspondingly, the cost-to-income ratio increased to 47.5% compared with 44.9% a year ago.
Group managing director and group CEO Mohd Rashid Mohamad said the group continued to deliver sustained financial performance for H1’23 despite the challenging economic and business environment.
“Our fundamentals remain strong, and we will continue to remain focused on the Group’s Together We Progress 2024 corporate strategy, which is now in its second year of execution.
“In appreciation of the support and loyalty that our shareholders have given us, we are pleased to declare an interim dividend of 15 sen per share, representing a payout ratio of 40.9%,” he added. – Bernama
