UOB Q2 profit rises 5.1% to S$801m; bank to pay out S$0.35 per share

UNITED Overseas Bank's (UOB) net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, rose 5.1 per cent to S$801 million, or 1.94 Singapore cents per share on an annualised basis.

The bank has declared an interim dividend of 35 Singapore cents per share. The stock closed at S$18.94 on Wednesday before the results were announced.

For the six months ended June 30, net profit stood at S$1.6 billion, up 0.2 per cent.

Net interest income slipped 0.2 per cent in the second quarter to S$1.2 billion, while net interest margin slipped to 1.68 per cent from the year-ago margin of 1.77 per cent.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) rose 22 per cent from a year ago to S$3.1 billion as at end-June. Including S$108 million in debt securities and others, total non-performing assets were S$3.2 billion as at June 30.

As a percentage of gross customer loans, the NPL ratio increased to 1.4 per cent from 1.2 per cent a year earlier.