Public Bank managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek.
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd
expects the operating environment in Malaysia to remain conducive to growth in the banking sector, underpinned by resilient private expenditure and investment activities, says managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek.
Sharing the bank’s outlook after delivering its mid-year report, he said it would continue to strengthen its core competency in the retail banking segment, while recognising new opportunities in sustainability and digital transformation.
“As the group proactively moves forward, it will continue to ensure a solid foundation with healthy capital and liquidity position, as well as sound asset quality to safeguard its bottom line and sustainable stakeholder value,” he said.
Public Bank said the global economic growth in 2024 is expected to be supported by the positive labour market conditions, moderating inflation and a turnaround in global trade.
“However, the growth outlook remains subjected to downside risks stemming from protracted geopolitical tensions, volatility in global financial markets and higher-than-expected inflation.”
Public Bank reported a 10.08% jump in net profit in the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2Q24) to RM1.78bil, on the back of a top line of RM6.69bil, a 6.82% improvement over the year-ago quarter.
Basic earnings per share in the quarter under review rose to 9.18 sen from 8.34 sen in 2Q23.
For the six-month period ended June 30, 2024 (1H24), Public Bank recorded a net profit of RM3.44bil on revenue of RM13.49bil, as compared to a net profit of RM3.33bil and revenue of RM12.39bil in 1H23.
The bank declared an interim dividend of 10 sen per share, representing 56.5% of the group’s net profit for the six months period ended June 30, 2024.
The dividend will be distributed on Sept 23, 2024, based on an entitlement date of Sept 11, 2024.
Public Bank’s net interest and financing income in 1H24 rose 3.9% to RM5.42bil compared to 1H23, with a stable net interest margin/financing margin of 2.2%.
The group’s non-interest income recorded 5.8% growth to RM1.32bil due to higher income from the unit trust and stockbroking business.
“Public Mutual, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Bank Group that manages its unit trust business, remained a significant contributor to the group’s non-interest income.
“As compared with the corresponding period in 2023, Public Mutual registered a healthy growth of 10.5% in pre-tax profit to RM428.3mil in the first half of 2024, accounting for 9.7% of the group’s overall pre-tax profit,” said the bank.
Public Bank saw a 6% increase in its loans portfolio to RM411bil with a 5.9% increase in domestic loans to RM383.7bil.
Customer deposits, meanwhile, grew 5.8% year-on-year to RM424.9bil, with a 5.3% increase in domestic customer deposits to RM395.1bil
