Thursday 24 February 2011

Hong Leong Bank Q2 net climbs 30pc

HONG Leong Bank Bhd (5819)said its second quarter net profit jump 30 per cent as it made more money in all key businesses.

Net profit for the quarter to December 31 2010 was RM291.4 million compared with RM224.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.

In a statement yesterday, the lender said revenue also rose to RM603.9 million from RM519.4 million before.

This was aided by lending out of its Singapore branch, profit contributions from global markets, the treasury division and Islamic banking arm and loan growth in the auto, property and small and medium sized enterprises.

Group managing director and chief executive Yvonne Chia said on a pre-tax profit basis the quarter's RM360 million profit marks the strongest quarter in the past five financial years.

"We are satisfied that the underlying operations are sound to strongly support the growth opportunities and the bank's track record of sustainably creating shareholder value remains firm, with return on average shareholder funds at 16.4 per cent and annualised earnings per share at 75.5 sen".

The bank has a loan to deposit ratio of 68 per cent, which means it has room to continue growing its loans.

Chia remains optimistic of prospects due to the rebound in economic activities.

For the first six months to December 2010, the lending portfolio for the purchase of residential properties grew 16 per cent while for the purchase of non-residential properties saw an expansion of 15 per cent.

Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd, the group's wholly-owned subsidiary, contributed 7 per cent of the Group's pre-tax profits in the first half of the financial year.

Profits from the group's 20 per cent shareholding in Bank of Chengdu Co Ltd. grew 41 per cent year-on-year to RM81 million for the six-month period.

Read more: Hong Leong Bank Q2 net climbs 30pc http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/HONRES/Article/#ixzz1ErsFndVQ

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