PETALING JAYA: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a net profit of RM2.04 billion in its first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Q1’22), 14.52% lower from RM2.39 billion in the previous financial year’s corresponding quarter (Q1’21) as geopolitical tensions and market volatility impacted the operating environment.
Although the reopening of regional economies led to a pick-up in loans growth and reduced impairment charges, the market weakness mitigated this positive impact.
The bank’s revenue decreased 2.54% to RM11.91 billion from RM12.22 billion in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
Net fund-based income for Q1’22 grew 5.3% to RM4.89 billion as net interest margin expanded 3 basis points year-on-year on lower interest expense, and loans rose 5.2%. Asset quality saw a significant improvement, with the gross impaired loans ratio improving to 1.95% from 2.20% in March 2021.
As at April 30, 2022, some 16.8% of the outstanding loan balance in Malaysia remained under relief, while the proportion in Indonesia and Singapore stood at 11.6% and 3.3% respectively.
Chairman Tan Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa (pix) said the start of 2022 looked promising with active resumption of economic activities and the gradual reopening of international borders. However, the escalation of geopolitical tensions and resultant market volatility as well as inflationary pressures has somewhat dampened this sentiment.
“While we are cautious in our outlook for the rest of the year given significant uncertainties, we will remain guided by the forward looking strategies set out in our M25 Plan. We intend to actively drive new business growth in this recovery period, while at the same time continue supporting our customers to ensure they are able to remain sustainable in the long term,” he said.
Zamzamzairani welcomed on board Maybank new group president & CEO Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli, who joined on May 1, 2022, as he leads Maybank pillared on the M25 focus areas of digitalisation, new value drivers and sustainability.
Khairussaleh said the positive trends in the group’s Q1’22 financial performance were evident across key markets despite the lingering impact of global factors on the operating environment.
“While the outlook for the remaining part of the year remains mixed at this stage, we will focus on tapping into growth opportunities across customer segments in our key markets while maintaining our capital and liquidity strength to facilitate these growth opportunities. At the same time, we will ensure our risk management capabilities remains robust, and cost management and productivity efforts continue. Additionally, we aim to accelerate solution rollouts on our digital platforms to continue to fulfil customers’ journeys while increasing our market penetration regionally.”
The group has set its headline key performance indicator of return on equity of between 9.5% and 10% for FY’22, factoring the impact from the one-off Prosperity Tax announced by the government.