AMBANK NET PROFIT SURGES 60PC IN Q3
Lender attributes performance to higher lending volume, lower cost base and increase in recoveries
AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group) posted a higher net profit of RM349.88 million in the third quarter ended December, a 59.8 per cent increase from RM218.98 million recorded in the same period in 2017.
This was supported by higher lending volume, lower cost base and increase in recoveries, said AmBank Group.
Revenue rose to RM2.30 billion in the quarter, from RM2.16 billion in the corresponding period in the preceding year.
For the nine-month period ended December, the bank recorded a 19 per cent increase in net profit to RM1.05 billion, compared with RM878.72 million in 2017.
AmBank Group chief executive officer Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said the result demonstrated that the strategies put in place by the lender over the years were bearing fruit.
“This is also against a backdrop of slower economic growth and heightened markets volatility,” he said in a statement.
Sulaiman expects a loan growth of about 4.9 per cent for the banking industry this year.
“The outlook for Malaysia stays positive, with a projected full-year gross domestic product growth of 4.5 to 4.8 per cent this year.
“Inflation and unemployment are expected to remain moderate,” he said.
AmBank’s income grew two per cent in the nine-month period to RM2.97 billion, underpinned by a 5.9 per cent increase in net interest income.
Net interest margin stood at 1.93 per cent.