KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd is set to embark on its new corporate strategy, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2025, said group managing director and CEO Mohd Rashid Mohamad.
“We have taken several measures to ensure we possess the necessary core and technical competencies, as well as leadership bench strength, to navigate the challenges ahead and drive sustainable growth,” he said.
“We remain steadfast in our strategic priorities and are well-positioned to navigate the evolving market landscape.”
This comes following the announcement of the bank’s second-quarter financial results, which showed significant income growth, but a bottomline that was dragged lower by higher operating expenses and expected credit losses (ECL),
During the quarter under review, RHB reported a net profit of RM722.31mil as compared to RM808.7mil in the year-ago quarter, while revenue rose to RM4.42bil from RM4.05bil over the same comparative period.
The group’s earnings per share contracted to 16.71 sen from 18.95 sen previously.
Similarly for the six months period ended June 30, 2024, RHB’s net profit dropped to RM1.45bil from RM1.57bil in 1HFY23, while revenue rose to RM8.82bil from RM7.97bil.
In line with the performance, the bank declared an interim dividend of 15 sen per share, representing a payout ratio of 45%.
According to RHB, its net fund-based income rose 4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM2.8bil due to higher funding income.
The bank’s net interest margin (NIM) improved six basis points from the first quarter of 2024 to 1.89%.
Meanwhile, non-fund-based income jumped 28.5% y-o-y to RM1.4bil, mainly owing to higher fee income, net gains on forex and derivatives, net trading and investment income.
There was also a one-off gain from the disposal of RHB Securities Vietnam Company Limited.
The group said operating expenses came to RM1.9bil while the cost-to-income ratio improved to 46.3% compared with 47.5% a year earlier.
The total ECL provided in 1HFY24 was RM360mil.
On balance sheet, the group’s gross loans and financing grew 2.5% year-to-date to RM227.9bil, supported by 2.8% growth in group community banking, 10.2% in Singapore and 10.1% in commercial segments.
Customer deposits amounted to RM240.3bil, with a current account savings account (Casa) composition of 28.1%.