MAYBANK posts 4Q net profit of RM912.47m

MALAYAN BANKING BHD [] staged a turnaround in the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2010 with net profit of RM912.47 million versus net loss of RM1.118 billion a year ago when it was affected by the RM1.97 billion impairment charge on its investment in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) and MCB Bank.

The banking group said on Friday, Aug 20 revenue was slightly lower at RM4.73 billion versus RM4.85 billion. Earnings per share were 12.89 sen versus loss per share of 17.62 sen. Its pre-tax profit was RM1.36 billion versus a pre-tax loss of RM821.67 million.

Maybank proposed a final dividend of 44 sen per share. Out of the amount, four sen per share will be paid in cash while the balance of 40 sen per share will be in the electable portion whereby a shareholder may either elect whether to receive it entirely in cash or reinvest in Maybank shares.

For the financial year ended June 30, net profit surged 450% to RM3.818 billion from RM691.87 billion. Pre-tax profit was a record of RM5.37 billion compared to  pre-tax profit of RM1.67 billion in 2009. Revenue was 5.5% higher at RM18.56 billion compared with RM17.58 billion.

"If compared to the normalised profit last year, pre-tax profit this year totalled RM5.01 billion, a 31.7% increase from RM3.81 billion previously," it said. The results were achieved on the back of higher revenues across all key business segments.

Maybank president and CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said: "The good set of results is testimony to  the significant progress we have made in our transformation group-wide. It is indeed a year of achievement as we cross the 'regional milestone' of US$100 billion in total assets and USD1 billion in profit after tax."

He said that for Maybank, whilst it is more than pleased and have overcome the many challenges after the regional acquisitions, "our journey of change is far from over".

Wahid said for this year, the group had reframed its strategic aspirations to humanise financial services from the heart of Asean and reorganised its operations structure to enhance service and product delivery, pioneering new ways of providing financial solutions across the key markets.

"The year ahead will be a challenging one and we are confident that the right formula is now in place for us to consistently deliver as Malaysia's regional financial services leader," it said. - by Joseph Chin