PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 rose marginally to RM1.410 billion from RM1.405 billion a year ago driven by healthy loan and deposit growth.
The group said in a statement today that it achieved 4.8% annualised growth in its total domestic loans and 4.9% annualised domestic deposit growth during the quarter, despite the challenging banking landscape. Total gross loans grew at an annualised rate of 3.9%.
The loan portfolio expansion was driven by residential properties financing as well as lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporate customers for the purchase of commercial properties and for working capital.
The group approved RM13.4 billion loans in total during the quarter, of which 57% was granted to retail consumers and 20.3% for SMEs.
In terms of non-interest income, Public Mutual remained the largest contributor with a total of 148 unit trust funds under its management, translating into a total net asset value of RM81.6 billion.
Public Mutual sustained its position in the domestic private unit trust industry, with a retail market share of 36.4%.
The group’s revenue for the quarter rose 4.09% to RM5.57 billion from RM5.35 billion a year ago.
Public Bank founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow (pix) said the group was able to sustain its performance and maintain its leading position as the most cost efficient Malaysian bank, despite rising headwinds and persistent uncertainties clouding its operating environment.
“This is clearly reflected in the group’s high net return-on-equity of 14%, efficient cost-to-income ratio of 33.8% and lowest gross impaired loan ratio of 0.5%,” he said.
