KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): Public Bank Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 rose 7% to RM1.70 billion from RM1.59 billion a year earlier, on the back of healthy loans and customer deposits growth.

In a bourse filing on Wednesday, the banking group said revenue for the quarter rose to RM6.48 billion from RM5.50 billion.

Earnings per share rose to 8.76 sen from 8.19 sen.

The banking group did not declare any dividend.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, Public Bank posted a net profit of RM5.03 billion versus RM4.41 billion a year prior on the back of revenue of RM18.87 billion against RM15.36 billion.

Reviewing its performance, Public Bank said for the quarter under review, net interest and Islamic banking income increased by RM90.2 million while non-interest and financing income improved by RM16.6 million.

It said these were partially offset by higher other operating expenses and higher loan impairment allowance.

The bank said investment banking pre-tax profit increased by RM1.2 million to RM10.0 million, mainly due to higher stockbroking income but partially offset by lower net interest income and higher other operating expenses.

Meanwhile, fund management pre-tax profit increased by RM17.0 million to RM205.2 million, due to higher management fee from higher average net asset value of funds, higher fee on sale of trust units and higher interest income.

Public Bank said overseas operations pre-tax profit decreased by RM65.3 million to RM151.9 million.

It said the lower profit was mainly due to lower fee and other income, higher loan impairment allowance and higher other operating expenses.

These were partially mitigated by higher net interest income.

On its prospects, Public Bank said it remains committed to strengthen its regional presence in Indochina, while leveraging its strong branding and prudent management practices.

In particular, the group said it continues to expand its business in Vietnam, capitalising on the robust economic environment.

Public Bank said it continues to ensure that it remains well-capitalised and well-funded at all times to support its business growth, while safeguarding the interests of its stakeholders.

The bank said its healthy capital and liquidity position coupled with its resilient asset quality and prudent loan loss reserves will enable the group to generate sustainable profit through challenging times and business cycles.

At the midday break, Public Bank gained 0.71% or three sen to RM4.25 with 5.12 million shares traded.