PETALING JAYA: AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group) recorded a marginal 0.8% increase in net profit to RM520.23 million for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1’27), compared with RM516.18 million in the corresponding quarter last year, supported by revenue growth and a 7% expansion in loans.
Revenue, or net income, rose 2.8% to RM1.33 billion from RM1.29 billion previously, driven mainly by a 4.3% increase in net interest income to RM964.7 million on the back of strong loan growth.
The banking group said gross loans, advances and financing grew 7% year-on-year to RM147.8 billion, with growth recorded across its wholesale, business and retail banking segments.
AmBank Group CEO Jamie Ling said the group had delivered a resilient start to FY27, supported by continued revenue growth, loan expansion and disciplined cost management.
“Our strong capital position and ample liquidity provide a strong foundation to support our customers,” he said in a statement.
Net interest margin moderated to 1.93% from 2.01% a year earlier, reflecting lower asset yields following the overnight policy rate reduction last year. Meanwhile, non-interest income eased 0.9% to RM362.8 million, as lower securities trading gains and insurance income were partly offset by higher wealth management income.
Operating expenses rose 2.1% to RM575.5 million, mainly due to higher personnel, computerisation and software amortisation costs. However, the group’s cost-to-income ratio improved to 43.4% from 43.7%, lifting profit before provisions by 3.5% to RM752 million.
Net impairment charges edged lower to RM69.8 million from RM72.4 million, helped by higher overlay reversals in retail banking. This was partly offset by an additional RM52.5 million overlay provision for exposures deemed potentially vulnerable to sustained geopolitical tensions, as well as higher provisions in wholesale banking and lower recoveries.
By segment, business banking’s profit after taxation (PAT) rose 8% to RM200.9 million, while retail banking’s PAT more than doubled to RM111.9 million, aided by lower expenses and impairment writebacks.
Wholesale banking’s PAT was unchanged at RM234.9 million despite a 13.3% increase in income, as higher expenses and impairment charges offset the improvement.
The group’s gross impaired loans ratio edged up to 1.62% from 1.59% at the end of FY26, while its loan loss coverage ratio, including regulatory reserves, improved to 102.5% from 100.9%.
Customer deposits stood at RM144.1 billion, down 2% year-to-date, mainly due to a decline in current account savings account deposits, although time deposits increased 2.4%. On a year-on-year basis, customer deposits grew 4.4%.
Looking ahead, Ling said Malaysia’s economic fundamentals remained strong, although unresolved geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to pose global uncertainty.
“We are focused on delivering our plans in the quarters ahead,” he said.
