DBS posts 11% rise in Q4 profit to S$2.52 billion; full-year earnings hit record S$11.29 billion
Bank proposes final dividend of S$0.60 per share for Q4, announces capital return dividend of S$0.15 per quarter in FY2025
DBS posted net profit for the fourth quarter that was 11 per cent higher compared with the year-ago period, but fell slightly short of expectations.
Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2024, was at S$2.52 billion, compared with S$2.27 billion from the year-ago period.
Excluding one-off items – a S$100 million corporate social responsibility commitment to DBS Foundation and other charitable causes – Q4 net profit would have been up 10 per cent at S$2.62 billion.
This slightly missed the S$2.64 billion consensus forecast in a Bloomberg survey of two analysts.
DBS also recorded a S$100 million provision for its corporate social responsibility commitment in the corresponding quarter last year, as well as S$24 million in integration costs from the acquisition of Citigroup’s Taiwan consumer banking business.
Compared with the previous quarter, net profit fell 17 per cent from S$3.03 billion.
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That brought the bank’s full-year net profit to a new record high of S$11.29 billion, up 12 per cent from the year-ago period. Treasury customer sales reached a new high, fee income crossed S$4 billion for the first time, and markets trading income rebounded, said DBS.
Excluding the one-off items, full-year net profit would have been up 11 per cent at S$11.41 billion. The bank also reported a fresh high for the full-year net profit in FY2023 – it was S$10.06 billion then.
“We achieved a record financial performance in 2024 with return on equity of 18 per cent, one of the highest among developed market banks. Balance sheet management supported net interest income growth while improving investor sentiment drove wealth management fees and treasury customer sales to new highs,” said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta in a statement.
The lender proposed a final dividend of S$0.60 per share for Q4, which brings it to S$2.22 per share for the full year – an increase of 27 per cent over the previous year, the bank said. The final dividend will be payable on or around Apr 16.
Net interest income under its commercial book rose 5 per cent to S$3.83 billion for Q4 from the year-ago period.
Net interest margin for the group was up two basis points to 2.15 per cent for the quarter, from 2.13 per cent in the previous corresponding period.
Total income for Q4 rose 10 per cent to S$5.51 billion from the previous corresponding period, but fell 4 per cent compared with Q3. For the full year, it was S$22.3 billion, 10 per cent higher compared with the previous corresponding period.
Commercial book net fee and commission income grew 23 per cent to a record S$4.17 billion for the full year, said the bank. The increase was driven by wealth management fees, which rose 45 per cent to a new high of S$2.18 billion on the back of growth in investment products and bancassurance, and the consolidation of Citi Taiwan, it said.
The bank’s non-performing loans ratio was at 1.1 per cent, unchanged from the same period a year earlier.
It also announced a capital return dividend of S$0.15 per share per quarter to be paid out over financial year 2025; it expects to pay out a similar amount of capital in the next two years.
“The board committed to managing down the stock of excess capital over the coming three years,” said the lender.
It added: “The capital return dividend is the latest in a series of capital management initiatives undertaken by the board in recent years, which included regular increases in the ordinary dividend including through a bonus issue, occasional special dividends and a share buyback programme. The board will continue to consider all forms of returning capital.”
DBS also set aside S$32 million to pay out a one-time bonus of S$1,000 each to all employees except senior managers, it said.
“A special one-time bonus of S$1,000 each will be paid to all staff except senior managers as an additional reward for their contribution to the record performance,” it said.
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