Maybank's net profit rose 24.9pc to RM8.09bil in FY21, driven by improving regional economic outlook

Maybank's net profit rose 24.9pc to RM8.09bil in FY21, driven by improving regional economic outlook

Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias said the group's ability to deliver a better set of results in 2021 was underpinned by the risk posture to be prudent from the onset of the pandemic in terms of credit and risk manag

KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd's net profit increased 24.9 per cent to RM8.09 billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 (FY21) from the RM6.48 billion recorded in FY20.

In a statement today, Southeast Asia's fourth-largest bank by asset said the better results were driven by improving regional economic outlook.

This has supported the group's higher operating income and reduced impairment losses by 36.6 per cent as it had taken pre-emptive provisioning for potentially bad loans and financial investments since the pandemic started in 2020.

Revenue in FY21 decreased 9.9 per cent to RM45.96 billion from RM51.03 billion.

Maybank said net operating income grew 2.8 per cent to RM25.45 billion, tracking Malaysia's economic growth of 3.1 per cent in 2021.

This was achieved on the back of a 14.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in total net fund based income to RM19.09 billion as a result of stronger loan growth as well as robust improvement in current account and savings accounts (CASA), which helped net interest margin (NIM) expand 22 basis points (bps) YoY.

Maybank said it was, however, partially offset by a 21.6 per cent decline in net fee-based income to RM6.36 billion, mainly from the lower net gain in investment income and marked-to-market losses on the fixed income portfolio held by its insurance unit due to rising yields.

Meanwhile, growth in costs was contained at 2.6 per cent, well below income growth, resulting in pre-provisioning operating profit coming in higher at RM13.93 billion from RM13.54 billion a year ago.

Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias said the group's ability to deliver a better set of results in 2021 was underpinned by the risk posture to be prudent from the onset of the pandemic in terms of credit and risk management, the pursuit of responsible growth and maintaining good shareholder returns.

"Our financial strength and resilience have been a result of our focus in building strong capital, liquidity, credit and risk management practises group-wide over the years, which has helped us overcome this pandemic and enabled us to support our customers in need.

"While lingering Covid-19 concerns remain in 2022 due to the recent rapid increase in cases, the upside is that many have

been fully vaccinated, and we are learning to live with the new virus variants.

"Maybank will remain steadfast in pursuing its M25 ambitions to enable meaningful and lasting value creation," he said.

Meanwhile, for the fourth quarter (Q4), Maybank's net profit increased 33.8 per cent to RM2.06 billion from RM1.54 billion, while revenue eased 8.1 per cent to RM11.26 billion from RM12.24 billion.

Maybank has declared a single-tier second interim dividend of 30 sen per share, comprising an electable portion of 7.5 sen per share under its dividend reinvestment plan.

This brings the full-year dividend to 58 sen per share and translates into a payout ratio of 84.5 per cent or RM6.84 billion in total.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2022/02/774188/maybanks-net-profit-rose-249pc-rm809bil-fy21-driven-improving-regional