Public Bank posts 22.6% net profit surge in Q1

It expects market volatility to be heavily influenced by US and EU banking environment.

Malaysia’s Public Bank recorded a net income of RM1.71b ($370m) in the first quarter of the year, up 22.6% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

Profit before tax also climbed 10.4% to RM2.21b ($480m).

Likewise, net interest income increased 7.4% YoY as influenced by good performances in loans and deposits. Whilst smaller impairment allowances were recorded during the three-month period and maintained a 13.6% return on equity.

However, operating expenses slightly increased by 4.7% in the first quarter.

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For the rest of the year, the bank expects “heightened volatility” amidst the US nd European banking environment to have some effect in overall fundamentals.

“This is likely to further exert downward pressure on the world economy which is already bracing for a challenging 2023 due to elevated inflation, tightening financial conditions and geopolitical tensions. Malaysia as an open economy, will continue to face these headwinds.” the bank said in a filing.

(RM1.00 = $0.22)