KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK), Malaysia’s biggest bank by assets, said on Wednesday its net profit rose 8.2% year-on-year in the second quarter thanks to lower provisions and tax expenses. 

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) was RM2.53 billion compared to RM2.34 billion over the same period a year earlier, Maybank said in an exchange filing. Net interest income slipped 0.6% year-on-year to RM3.19 billion while non-interest income was down 2.8% to RM2.41 billion.

Allowances for impairment losses on loans, advances, financing and other debts fell to RM381.28 million from RM561.68 million booked in 2QFY2023. 

“Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, we remain optimistic about our prospects,” Maybank chairman Tan Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said in a statement.

Maybank also reiterated its target to achieve a return on equity of 11% for FY2024. 

It also declared an interim cash dividend of 29 sen per share, amounting to a total distribution of RM3.5 billion, and to be paid at a date to be determined later. 

For the first half of 2024, net profit rose nearly 9% to RM5.02 billion from RM4.60 billion over the same period last year. Net interest income edged 1.4% lower to RM6.35 billion while non-interest income surged 28% to RM5.15 billion.

“We are staying the course and sustaining this momentum,” said Maybank chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli.

Net interest margin, a measure of profitability from interest charged on loans after paying returns on deposits, narrowed 15 basis points year-on-year due to higher funding cost across its home markets of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Gross loans expanded 10.4% while deposits from customers increased 7.9%.

In terms of asset quality, gross impaired loans — debts deemed unrecoverable as a percentage of total loans — improved by 18 basis points to 1.29% while loan loss coverage stood at 128.7%.

The common equity tier 1 capital ratio — a measure of a bank’s capital strength based on the highest quality of regulatory capital — came in at 14.70%.

Shares of Maybank gained 16 sen or 1.5% at the closing bell. At RM10.86, the company has a market capitalisation of RM131 billion.