KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): Malaysia Building Society Bhd’s (MBSB) net profit surged by 2.6 times to RM200.72 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4QFY2022), compared with RM76.45 million a year earlier, due to an absence of net loss on modification of cash flows following the end of the moratorium period.

In 4QFY2021, MBSB incurred RM115.05 million in net modification loss, the company’s filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.

Quarterly revenue improved 11.8% to RM668.02 million from RM597.73 million in 4QFY2021.

For the full financial year, the group’s net profit rose 4.9% to RM460.19 million from RM438.70 million in FY2021, helped by a lower modification loss following the end of moratorium under the repayment assistance programme.

Full-year revenue rose by a marginal 0.7% to RM2.64 billion from RM2.62 billion in FY2021.

MBSB’s deposits advanced to RM36.5 billion in FY2022 against RM33.3 billion in the previous year, mainly contributed by current accounts and savings accounts (CASA) from retail customers. CASA ratio grew to an estimated 6.2% in FY2022.

“Our financing segment grew by 6.6% in FY2022 which is the highest since 2018, driven by corporate financing at 19.7% and property financing at 14.8%,” said MBSB chief executive officer Datuk Nor Azam M Taib in a statement.

“This was the highest profit after tax we have achieved in three years which signals the efficacy of the group’s strategic business plan. We aim to grow our financing by 7%-8% this year as the financial sector benefits from the current domestic economic landscape,” he said.

MBSB’s total assets stood at RM54.95 billion at the end of FY2022, up 8.42% against RM50.68 billion in FY2021 due to the increase in financing.

On the outlook for FY2023, the financial group said its business strategy will be centred on enhancing its core business in the retail segment, and targeting large, premium corporates to provide the bank with financing growth.

“The group is pursuing a four-pronged strategy to grow its financing by 7%-8% by the end of the year. The strategy includes plans to increase market share in corporate and property financing, expand its footing in SME (small and medium enterprise) financing, particularly amongst businesses involving agriculture and food manufacturing as well as prioritising its CASA-i to fund the financing growth,” he added.

MBSB shares closed 0.83% or half sen lower at 60 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM4.27 billion.