Alliance Bank aims for 10 per cent profit in FY19

KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd aims to achieve a 10 per cent growth in net profit in the financial year ending March 31, 2019 (FY19) against the backdrop of improved consumer sentiment following the removal of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in June.

Group chief executive officer Joel Kornreich said the company recorded a lower after tax profit of 3.7 per cent in FY18, as the company invested RM74 million in the company’s transformation initiatives.

“The net impact of the expenses would decrease significantly, down to zero in FY19, which will contribute to a higher net profit,” he told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting yesterday.

Joel said the company was also looking at a six per cent growth in revenue for FY19 compared with the seven per cent growth recorded in FY18, mainly due to asset growth and improved sales.

He said the bank also targeted a 10 per cent loans growth for FY19, from the 2.5 per cent recorded in FY18, driven by its loan consolidation solution, Alliance One Account, which would contribute about 70 per cent to total growth.

“The small and medium-sized enterprises’ loan and personal financing will each contribute 15 per cent. We are really focusing on consumer and SME sectors,” he said, noting that there were concerns due to the weak sentiment in property development and a slowdown in infrastructure spending.

On the outlook for the banking sector, Chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Mohd Don expected it to remain competitive and said that Alliance Bank would strive to avoid being left behind in the industry. — Bernama