KUALA LUMPUR: AMMB Holdings Bhd registered a net profit of RM352.63 million in the second quarter ended September this year, 7.81 per cent lower than RM382.52 million in the same period a year ago, mainly due to higher operating expenditure. However, the result beat the Bloomberg consensus estimate by 46.25 per cent. As such, there could be an upward re-rating by analysts. The banking group’s revenue rose to RM2.099 billion in the quarter, from RM2.088 billion last year. Net profit for the first half of the year ending March 2017 also dropped to RM675.63 million, from RM722.03 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Non-interest income was up five per cent supported by a higher trading gain, but partially offset by a drop in fee income and normalised income from general insurance business. Cost-to-income ratio improved to 55 per cent on cost management and stronger income growth. AMMB’s chief executive officer Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said the group was well-positioned to face the current challenging operating environment given its commitment to risk-based pricing and underwriting strategies. “With our commitment to investing in key segments and the ongoing execution of our Top 4 strategy, we are gaining momentum in our quest to achieve our financial year 2020 targets,” he said, here, yesterday. Sulaiman expects AMMB’s loan growth to pick up for the rest of the financial year 2017, mainly driven by small and medium enterprises and mortgages. Maybank Kim Eng has had a “hold” call on AMMB Holdings with a target price of RM4.40. AMMB Holdings closed one sen lower to RM4.10 yesterday.
AMMB Holdings - 2Q net profit of MYR 352.63m ($79.8m), down 7.81% YoY, primarily due to higher operating expenditure.