Latest news with #RM1.94bil
The Star
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Star
FBM KLCI falls on profit-taking despite regional market gains
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia bucked the broadly higher regional trend as investors took profit off the table, sending the FBM KLCI lower on selling in banking stocks. At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI ended down 6.37 points, or 0.42% to 1,526.98 after rising to an intraday high of 1,530.28. Market breadth turned negative as losers overpowered the gainers on a ratio of 584-to-390 stocks. Traded volumes stood at 2.63 billion shares worth RM1.94bil. Dealers said a bout of profit-taking sent many stocks lower, with the local bourse also weighed down by selling in banking stocks and Tenaga Nasional. They noted that recent gains prompted investors to lock in profits, especially amid lingering external uncertainties. Public Bank slipped five sen to RM4.24, pulling the index down by 1.3722 points. Maybank fell six sen to RM9.54, weighing on the index by 1.0249 points, while Tenaga Nasional declined 14 sen to RM13.16, trimming 1.1538 points off the index. CIMB slipped four sen to RM6.75, dragging the index down by 0.6083 points, while Hong Leong Bank fell 24 sen to RM18.90, weighing on the index by 0.7356 points. Gainers among the FBM KLCI component stocks were Nestle, PETRONAS Gas, QL Resources and MISC. On the broader market, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 46 sen to RM19.88, Heineken dropped 26 sen to RM23.32, and Hong Leong Industries eased 18 sen to RM12.78. Meanwhile, F&N gained 38 sen to RM29, Ralco rose 14.5 sen to RM1.11, and KJTS added 12 sen to RM1.44. On the forex market, the ringgit was quoted at 4.2395 against the US dollar, up 0.9%, and at 3.2908 against the Singapore dollar, gaining 0.07%. Across the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 0.77%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng delivered a 0.92% gain, China's CSI300 advanced 0.4%, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.66%. South Korea's Kospi ended 0.91% higher. In contrast, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.25%.
The Star
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
CIMB's net profit ticks higher to RM1.97bil in 1Q
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd group CEO Novan Amirudin KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd registered a higher net profit of RM1.97bil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (1QFY25), as compared to RM1.94bil in the year-ago quarter, on the back of an increase in net interest income. The bank's quarterly earnings per share rose to 18.39 sen from 18.16 sen in the same 2024 quarter, while it delivered a return on average equity of 11.4%. Group CEO Novan Amirudin said the performance underscores the continued strength of the group's diversified Asean portfolio with strong contributions across multiple income segments, particularly from its 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," he added. During the quarter, the bank said revenue contracted to RM5.5bil from RM5.63bil in the same quarter in 2024 due to net interest margin (NIM) compression, although this was offset by asset growth. Net interest income rose marginally year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM3.82bil while non-interest income (NOII) contracted 8.5% to RM1.68bil due to lower sales of non-performing loans and proprietary trading. On its balance sheet, the bank's total assets and gross loans increased 5.1% and 4.4% y-o-y respectively on a constant currency basis. Its total deposits expanded 2.7% y-o-y with total current account savings account (Casa) inflows growing 7.4% y-o-y, boosting the Casa ratio to 43.8% in March 2025 from 40.8% a year earlier. "The group's growing Casa base and favourable funding mix helped lower cost of funds by four basis points quarter-on-quarter and 11 basis points y-o-y. "Prudent asset-liability management also helped maintain a stable NIM of 2.16% in 1Q25 – unchanged from 4Q24, despite rate cuts in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore," it said. The group's cost-to-income ratio (CIR) stood at 46.9% in 1Q25, attributed to sustained cost prudence, but not at the expense of investments in technology and resilience. Technology investments increased 5% y-o-y. Meanwhile, total provisions remained contained at RM311 million with credit cost improving to 26bps, as compared to 35bps in 1Q24. Gross impaired loans (GIL) ratio decreased 40bps YoY to 2.2%, with additional forward overlays of RM100mil in 1Q25 which led to a healthy allowance coverage ratio at 102.4%. The group maintained a strong capital position, with Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio at 14.7%.
