Malaysia’s CIMB Islamic six-month pre-tax profit rises 12.2 pct on operating income, lower provisions

CIMB Group’s Islamic subsidiary’s pre-tax profit rose 12.2 per cent for the first half of 2019 versus the same period last year, driven by growth in operating income, and lower provisions.

Malaysia’s second largest banking group’s Islamic business earned 557 million ringgit ($131.85 million) in H1 pre-tax profit, it reported in an exchange filing on Thursday.

Operating income grew 17.1 per cent and it saw 19.1 per cent lower provisions, said the Group in a statement.

The bank posted an increase in gross financing assets of 14.2 per cent to reach 76.4 billion ringgit, which represents 21.5 per cent of the Group’s total gross loans.

Total Shariah-compliant deposits, including investment accounts, were up by 18 per cent year-on-year to 84.7 billion ringgit.

Overall, the Group posted 14.5 per cent growth in net profit for H1 to 2.7 billion ringgit compared to the same period last year.

The Malaysia-headquartered Group’s total assets reached 558.84 billion ringgit at June 30, up 4.63 per cent from the end of 2018.

Islamic assets made up 23.26 per cent, at 129.96 billion ringgit, which was an increase of 7.35 per cent from December 31.

CIMB Group CEO Zafrul Aziz said in a statement the company is focusing on loan growth, revenue generation and asset quality management for the second half of the year.

Outside of its Malaysian home market, CIMB also operates in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, London, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The Group said its Indonesia operations posted an “encouraging” 20.2 per cent profit growth year-on-year, supported by its consumer business.

($1 = 4.2249 Malaysian ringgit)

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