MALAYAN Banking (Maybank) reported a net profit of RM2.4 billion (S$677 million) for its third quarter ended Sep 30, 2023, up 12.3 per cent on the year from RM2.1 billion previously.

This was mainly due to a RM104 million write-back in impairment losses on financial investments, as opposed to a RM245.8 million allowance made in the same period the prior year.

Net allowances for impairment losses on loans, advances, financing and other debts also came in lower at RM440.2 million for Q3, narrowing from RM599.6 million in allowances in the same period a year ago.

The group’s earnings per share for the quarter stood at 19.56 sen, up from 17.67 sen in the same period last year.

Net interest income was down 8.6 per cent year-on-year at RM3.2 billion from RM3.4 billion previously, led by higher interest expenses, which more than offset the overall increase in Q3 interest income.

Income from the bank’s Islamic banking scheme operations fell 6 per cent to RM1.9 billion from RM2 billion a year ago against the preceding quarter.

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Other operating income for the quarter rose 26 per cent to RM1.8 billion from RM1.5 billion previously.

Maybank said that this was mainly due to a higher unrealised mark-to-market gain on revaluation of financial liabilities, a higher foreign exchange gain, and a net investment income compared to a loss booked in the same quarter a year ago.

Overhead expenses grew 2.7 per cent to RM3.8 billion, mainly due to higher administration and general expenses, personnel expenses, and establishment costs.

Maybank’s loans, advances and financing segment for Singapore in Q3 was up 10.4 per cent from RM159.8 billion as at end-September 2023, from RM144.7 billion as at end-2022.

Impaired loans, advances and financing grew 35.1 per cent for the same period, from RM1.1 billion from RM823.8 million as at the previous comparative date.

Looking ahead, Maybank said that it will pursue global opportunities for growth across its consumer and business segments within its Asean franchise. The group targets to achieve a headline key performance indicator of between 10.5 percent and 11 per cent return on equity for FY2023.