KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 1): Public Bank Bhd saw 30 million shares representing 0.15% of its shares traded off-market on Thursday (Dec 1).

According to Bloomberg data, the shares were traded in three tranches for a total value of RM132.6 million.

The transactions were carried out at RM4.42 per share, compared to its closing price of RM4.47 in the open market on Thursday. The parties involved in the transactions were not immediately known.

Last month, Public Bank saw its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022) rise 16.8% to RM1.59 billion, from RM1.36 billion a year earlier, due to higher net interest income and lower loan impairment allowance.

The higher net interest income was partly attributable to loan growth achieved and the positive effect of overnight policy rate (OPR) hikes.

The bank added that the lower loan impairment allowance was mainly attributed to adequate pre-emptive allowance made in the prior years.

The group’s net interest income was 16.5% higher at RM338.1 million, while its loan impairment allowance was 70.4% lower at RM228.5 million, partially offset by 10.4% higher other operating expenses of RM101.5 million.

By segment, hire purchase showed significant increase in pre-tax profit, a 589.6% increase to RM217.6 million, which it said arose from net writeback of loan impairment allowance in the current quarter, as adequate pre-emptive allowance has been made in the prior years.

Revenue for the quarter increased to RM5.5 billion, from RM4.81 billion a year prior. In conjunction with the better financial performance, the bank declared a second interim dividend of four sen per share for the quarter, payable on Dec 23.

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