Public Bank 1Q16 pre-tax profit up by 10.9%

Public Bank - 1Q16 pre-tax profit of MYR 1.651bn ($426m), up 10.9% YoY, due to continued growth in retail earnings, despite a challenging operating environment.

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd 's earnings rose 4.9% to RM1.229bil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 from RM1.171bil a year ago, reflecting a continued growth in retail earnings against a backdrop of economic headwinds.



It said on Wednesday its pre-tax increased 10.9% to RM1.651bil from RM1.488bil. Revenue increased 9.5% to RM5.037b from RM4.600bil. Earnings per share were 31.85 sen compared with 30.34 sen a year ago.



Public Bank's founder and chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said having started the year with a positive momentum, the group achieved resilient growth in Q1FY16, “with its domestic loans and domestic deposits recording healthy annualised growth of 9.0% and 10.9% respectively”.



Teh said with the resilient deposits growth, the group continued to sustain a healthy net loan-to-deposit ratio of 89.9% as at the end of March 2016.”



He added that despite the challenging operating environment, the banking group continued to progress and deliver a favourable set of financial results.



It achieved a net return on equity of 16.1% whilst maintaining its low gross impaired loan ratio of 0.5% and an efficient cost-to-income ratio of 31.5% in the first quarter of 2016.



“The results are testament to the strength of our business model and reflect the group’s continued focus on executing our organic growth strategy,” he said.