DBS shares reach S$50 mark, an all-time high, after unveiling higher Q2 profit
The lender’s 1% rise in net profit, at S$2.82 billion for its second quarter, beats consensus estimates of Bloomberg and Citi
[SINGAPORE] DBS shares set a record on Thursday (Aug 7) and hit the S$50 mark for the first time, after the lender posted marginally higher Q2 earnings before the market opened.
The counter rose to an all-time high of S$50 at 3.30 pm, with some 4.4 million shares changing hands. This was 2.4 per cent or S$1.15 above its S$48.85 closing price on Wednesday.
However, it could not sustain the rise and closed Thursday at S$49.75, up by 1.8 per cent or S$0.90, with around 6.5 million shares transacted.
Year to date, DBS has soared more than 14 per cent above its closing price of S$43.72 on the last trading day of 2024.
Consensus-beating earnings
Before the market opened on Thursday, Singapore’s largest lender posted a 1 per cent rise in its net profit to S$2.82 billion for its second quarter ended Jun 30, up from S$2.79 billion for the year-ago period.
The earnings marginally surpassed the S$2.79 billion consensus forecast in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts.
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The growth came as net interest income in Q2 rose on robust deposit growth and balance sheet hedging, alongside higher fee income and treasury customer sales and strengthened markets trading performance.
The quarter’s total dividend payout is S$0.75 per share, up from S$0.54 in the year-ago period. The payout comprises a S$0.60 per share ordinary dividend and a S$0.15-per-share capital-return dividend.
The commercial book’s total income was flat on the year at S$5.31 billion. The markets trading income more than doubled to S$418 million, fuelled by lower funding costs and a more conducive trading environment.
Group net interest margin was at 2.05 per cent for Q2, from 2.14 per cent previously. The non-performing loans ratio fell to 1 per cent from 1.1 per cent.
Citi Research on Thursday maintained its “buy” call for DBS in a flash report, noting that its earnings beat Citi consensus estimates.
A key positive was that the bank’s management had maintained its guidance of FY2025’s estimated net interest income, improving slightly on the year, the report noted.
The research house forecast a 6.3 per cent dividend yield and a 4.7 per cent total return for the lender.
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