UOB-Kay Hian back to growth with 21.1% rise in Q3 profit

UOB-Kay Hian Holdings returned to growth in the third quarter as overseas trading volumes helped to lift net profit by 21.1 per cent despite a weak Singapore market.

The broker earned S$20.4 million, or 2.73 Singapore cents per share, in the three months to September. That was the first quarter this year to experience year-on-year growth.

Under the weight of the first half of the year, net profit in the first nine months of 2014 fell 26.9 per cent to S$55.2 million.

Market volumes in Singapore were low, but more activity in Thailand and Hong Kong helped to mitigate the decline in third-quarter commission incomes to just a 1.5 per cent decrease, to S$62.7 million. Higher lending activities raised interest income by 70.9 per cent to S$34.3 million.

"Unless investment sentiment improves significantly, we expect market activity to be muted for the remainder of 2014," the broker said. "The continued absence of a strong catalyst for global business growth could see low trading activity in 2015."

UOB-Kay Hian shares closed flat at S$1.505 on Wednesday before the results were announced.