KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Public Bank Bhd’s net profit saw a slight ease to RM5.51 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY19) from RM5.59 billion recorded in the previous year.
Revenue, however, rose to RM22.45 billion from RM22.04 billion previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said 2019 was a year with strong headwinds and increased challenges as economic growth across developed and emerging countries had further moderated.
“The reduction in the overnight policy rate (OPR) in May 2019 had placed further pressure on net interest margins which affected profitability of the domestic banking sector for the year.
“However, the Public Bank Group was still able to sustain stable profitability in FY19 through an above industry growth in financing and deposit-taking businesses, a commendable growth of 8.4 per cent in non-interest income and the strong asset quality,” he said.
On dividend, he said the group announced a full-year dividend of 73 sen for FY19 compared with 69 sen paid in FY18, translating into a total payout of RM2.83 billion which represented 51.4 per cent of the group’s net profit in FY19.
The bank has declared a second interim dividend of 40 sen per share for FY19, of which the ex-date is on March 11, 2020 and payable on March 20, 2020.
Moving forward, Teh said the group would remain cautiously optimistic as its strong market position and sound foundation, coupled with a growing domestic economy, would continue to support and drive business growth in 2020.
“The group will remain focused on organic growth strategy and continue to sharpen its competitive capabilities to strengthen resilience in its core businesses in retail and commercial banking.
“Sustaining stable profitability and preserving strong asset quality will remain the Group’s strategic focus going forward,” he added.
— NNN-BERNAMA
