KUALA LUMPUR: 's earnings rose 4.9% to RM1.229bil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 from RM1.171bil a year ago, reflecting a continued growth in retail earnings against a backdrop of economic headwinds. It said on Wednesday its pre-tax increased 10.9% to RM1.651bil from RM1.488bil. Revenue increased 9.5% to RM5.037b from RM4.600bil. Earnings per share were 31.85 sen compared with 30.34 sen a year ago. Public Bank's founder and chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said having started the year with a positive momentum, the group achieved resilient growth in Q1FY16, “with its domestic loans and domestic deposits recording healthy annualised growth of 9.0% and 10.9% respectively”. Teh said with the resilient deposits growth, the group continued to sustain a healthy net loan-to-deposit ratio of 89.9% as at the end of March 2016.” He added that despite the challenging operating environment, the banking group continued to progress and deliver a favourable set of financial results. It achieved a net return on equity of 16.1% whilst maintaining its low gross impaired loan ratio of 0.5% and an efficient cost-to-income ratio of 31.5% in the first quarter of 2016. “The results are testament to the strength of our business model and reflect the group’s continued focus on executing our organic growth strategy,” he said.
Public Bank - A pre - tax profit of $ ##M ( $ 426 million ) , up 10 % YoY , due to continued growth in retail earnings , despite a challenging operating environment .