CIMB Group Holdings Bhd poster a net profit of RM1.06 billion for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 2017 (4Q17) compared to RM854.38 million recorded in 4Q16, boosted by non-interest income and stronger performance from consumer and wholesale banking.

 

The second largest lender in Malaysia based on assets said the consumer banking business recognised lower provisions in Indonesia while the wholesale segment improved on the positive performances across capital markets.

 

These segments helped offset the lower pre-tax profit from regional commercial banking which was hit by higher provisions.

 

Operating income for the banking group was up by 4.6% year-on-year (YoY) at RM4.51 billion.

 

For the full financial year (FY17), CIMB Group posted a 25.6% YoY jump in earnings to RM4.47 billion while revenue rising 9.8% to RM17.63 billion.

 

The growth was supported by the 12.8% growth in non-interest income on better capital market activity, improved fee income and the 8.4% increase in net interest income, which helped offset higher operating expenses by 5.6% at RM9.13 billion.

 

Non-Malaysian operations contributed to 31% to CIMB Group’s RM6.11 billion pre-tax profit, up from 22% in FY16 with higher contributions from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

 

In FY17, total gross loans and deposits managed by the bank grew by 0.2% YoY and 5.5% YoY respectively, while the group’s loan-to-deposit ratio was lower at 90.8% compared to the 95.6% in FY16.

 

Gross impaired loans ratio was slightly higher at 3.4% versus the 3.3% managed in FY16 with allowance coverage of 70.5%, but cost-to-income ratio improved by 2.1 points to 51.8%.

 

Net interest margin was unchanged at 2.63% for the banking group in line with its liability management.

 

The bank declared a 12 sen dividend in 4Q17, bringing total dividends in FY17 to 25 sen or an RM2.28 billion payout (51% of FY17 profit).