Hong Leong Finance H1 net profit up 1% to S$45.1m
HONG LEONG Finance on Thursday (Aug 4) posted a 1 per cent rise in net profit to S$45.1 million for its half year ended Jun 30, 2022, from S$44.7 million previously.
Net interest income in the half year came to S$96.4 million, up 8.1 per cent. This was boosted by improved interest yield on the “healthy asset growth and lower funding cost sustained amid elevated benchmark rates driven by global interest rate hikes”, the group said in a regulatory filing.
Net interest margin was lifted by 10 basis points to 1.5 per cent.
Fee and commission income rose 73.6 per cent to S$8.1 million for the half year, led by fee income from rebound lending activities, the group said.
The group added that total staff expenses increased by 10.8 per cent to S$36.1 million for the half year on a lower base from a year earlier, as well as costs associated with headcount growth in its drive to “further enhance its (risk-and-compliance) management and technology transformation”.
Other operating expenses increased 20.8 per cent to S$8.4 million, which the group mainly attributed to higher business transaction and promotional costs linked to “improved lending activities amid competitive market costs coupled with higher energy prices”.
Earnings per share stood at 20.14 Singapore cents for the half year, up from 19.97 cents a year earlier.
An interim dividend of 3.75 Singapore cents a share will be paid on Sep 1, unchanged from the year before.
Shares of Hong Leong closed at S$2.48, up S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent, before the results were announced.
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