CIMB posts steady Q1 performance, strengthens Asean focus

The Sun

a day ago

PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd reported a net profit of RM1.97 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (Q1'25), representing a slight improvement of 1.91% from RM1.93 billion posted in the same quarter last year.
Revenue decreased 2.31% to RM5.49 billion in Q1'25 from RM5.62 billion in Q1'24.
Net interest income increased marginally quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) and year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM3.82 billion.
Meanwhile, non-interest income (NOII) grew 11.1% q-o-q, driven by an 18.9% rise in treasury client sales and a 12.6% increase in fee and commission income. On a y-o-y basis, NOII contracted by 8.5% to RM1.68 billion, primarily due to lower sales of non-performing loans and proprietary trading.
On a constant currency basis, CIMB's total assets and gross loans increased by 5.1% and 4.4% y-o-y, respectively.
The group's deposit-led strategy continued to expand total deposits by 2.7% y-o-y, with total current account savings account (Casa) inflows growing 7.4% y-o-y. This boosted the Casa ratio to 43.8% as of March 2025, up from 40.8% recorded as of March 2024.
The group's growing Casa base and favourable funding mix helped lower the cost of funds by 4 basis points q-o-q and 11 basis points y-o-y.
Prudent asset-liability management helped maintain a stable NIM of 2.16% in Q1'25 – unchanged from Q4'24 – despite interest rate cuts in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The group's cost-to-income ratio stood at 46.9% in Q1'25, attributed to sustained cost prudence, without compromising investments in technology and resilience.
Meanwhile, total provisions remained at RM311 million, with credit cost improving to 26 basis points, compared to 35 basis points in Q1'24.
The gross impaired loans ratio decreased by 40 basis points y-o-y to 2.2%, with additional forward overlays of RM100 million in Q1'25, resulting in a healthy allowance coverage ratio of 102.4%.
The group continued to maintain a strong capital position, with Common Equity Tier 1 ratio at 14.7%.
CIMB Group CEO Novan Amirudin said, 'The first quarter performance underscores the continued strength of our diversified Asean portfolio with strong contributions across multiple income segments, particularly from our client franchise income, which has shown consistent growth since 2022.
'We have maintained healthy asset quality and exercised disciplined cost controls to enhance resilience amid a dynamic operating environment.'
During the quarter, CIMB Group transitioned its leadership in Thailand and Cambodia, and included Thailand,
Cambodia and Singapore as part of the group's growth markets, allowing it to sharpen its strategic focus and drive growth in priority segments.
In the medium term, CIMB Group believes that the evolving global landscape will continue to present new opportunities, particularly in intra-Asean trade, where the group's integrated Asean franchise is poised to capitalise on growth prospects.
The group is well positioned to navigate the ongoing market uncertainties, supported by minimal exposure to trade-related loans and clients with direct US export dependencies.
With a strong asset quality and a healthy loan-to-deposit ratio of 88.9%, CIMB Group's prudent portfolio strategy
mitigates risks from potential tariff-related headwinds, reinforces balance sheet stability, and ensures capacity to fund future growth amid global volatility.