RHB Bank Bhd’s net profit jumped by 75% to RM701 million in the second quarter (Q2), from RM401 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding net modification loss impact incurred in the previous year, the group’s net profit for the Q221 fell marginally to RM701 million.

Revenue for the quarter declined 10.2% to RM 2.92 billion from RM3.25 billion for Q2 2020.

For the first half of the year, the banking group reported a net profit of RM1.35 billion compared to the RM971.7 million reported in the same period last year

The group declared an interim dividend of 15 sen per share. This comprises five sen cash pay-out and 10 sen will be subject to the dividend reinvestment plan.

“Excluding net modification loss impact, net profit grew by 5.5% mainly due to higher net fund-based income,” the banking group said.

Revenue for the period declined to RM5.83 billion from RM6.47 billion.

The banking group’s total income for the first six months stood at RM3.92 billion.

Cost-to-income ratio improved to 44.5% from 50% a year ago, while expected credit losses increased by 13.3% year-on-year ( y-o-y) to RM401 million.

Gross loans grew by 5.7% y-o-y to RM191 billion primarily driven by mortgage, auto finance, small and medium enterprise, and Singapore.

The group recorded RM3.1 billion in gross impaired loans compared to RM3.4 billion in the same period last year.

Domestic loans and financing grew 4.1% y-o-y while its domestic loan market share stood at 9% as of the end of Q2.

RHB’s total assets increased by 4.1% from December 2020 to RM282 billion at the end of Q2. Its net asset per share was RM6.86, with shareholders’ equity at RM27.5 billion as of end of June.

Meanwhile, the banking group saw an 8.1% growth in customer deposits to RM216 billion, mainly from current and savings accounts (29.3%), as well as fixed and money market.

Group managing director Khairussaleh Ramli said financial performance for the first half of the year demonstrated the group’s resilience and strong fundamentals to record growth, including its ability to sustain strong capital and liquidity positions despite the challenging operating environment in the face of Covid-19.

“We continue to support and facilitate our customers, both individuals and businesses, who are impacted by the various challenges brought about by the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Khairussaleh said RHB will continue to exercise prudence in loan loss provisioning and closely monitor asset quality while being watchful of emerging risks and the ongoing headwinds in the markets. – August 27, 2021.