KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Malaysia’s fourth-largest bank by assets RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) said its net profit rose 11% in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to higher interest income and lower provisions.
Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2025 (2QFY2025) was RM803.50 million, or 18.43 sen per share, according to an exchange filing. Year-on-year, net interest income rose 3.4% while non-interest income fell 1% during the quarter, lifting total income by 2% to RM2.16 billion.
Allowances for credit losses fell 38% year-on-year to RM89.44 million.
The bank declared a dividend of 15 sen per share. The date of entitlement and payment will be announced later.
Commenting on the results, chief executive Datuk Mohd Rashid Mohamad said RHB’s domestic loan growth remained in step with industry trends, underpinned by sound asset quality despite global uncertainties and sector-wide headwinds.
“These results reflect our resilience and underscore the strength of our franchise, positioning us to capture new growth avenues in the months ahead.”
For the first six months, net profit amounted to RM1.55 billion, an increase of 7% when compared to the same period last year. Net interest income increased 5.3% year-on-year to RM3.0 billion on loan growth.
Net interest margin, a gauge of profitability from interest charged on loans after deducting returns paid on deposits, shrank five basis points to 1.81%. Gross loans expanded 5.9% year-on-year in the first half.
Non-interest income, such as fees and commissions, declined 10.8% to RM1.2 billion, primarily due to lower net gain on forex and derivatives as well as a decline in brokerage income.
In terms of asset quality, gross impaired loans ratio — debts deemed unrecoverable as a percentage of total loans — crept up slightly to 1.51% at the end of June compared to 1.47% at the end of 2024. Loan loss coverage, including regulatory reserves, improved to 116.5%.
The bank’s 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 15.9%.
Rashid said that the bank remains focused on executing PROGRESS27, its three-year strategic roadmap.
“Our domestic loan growth tracked well with the industry, supported by sound asset quality,” he said. “These results underscore our strength and position us well to capture new growth avenues in the months ahead.”
At 2.44pm, shares of RHB Bank were four sen or 0.6% higher at RM6.53.