CIMB Group Holdings Berhad reported a record net profit of RM3.29 billion in the first half of 2018 (1H18).

It is bolstered by a gain from the sale of 20% of CIMB-Principal Asset Management (CPAM) and 10% of CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (CPIAM) amounting to RM928 million and this raised the Group’s 1H18 Return On average Equity (ROE) to 11.5%, and reduced its Cost-to-Income Ratio (CIR) to 46.1%.

“We are pleased with our record net profit of RM3.29 billion, contributed partly by the RM928 million gain from the strategic realignment of our shareholding in CPAM and CPIAM, which also provided an uplift of 15bps to our CET1.

“Consumer banking chalked a stellar performance, posting a 34.7% Y-o-Y increase in PBT; while Commercial Banking’s PBT rose by 19.9% y-o-y.

“The weaker markets in Malaysia, however, contributed to a lower PBT for Wholesale Banking,” said CIMB Group chief executive officer, Tengku Datuk Sri Zafrul Aziz.

He added that the Group is relatively cautious on 2018 growth prospects in view of rising global trade tensions and market uncertainties.

But despite their caution, the Group remain focused on achieving their T18 targets, subject to recovery of capital markets, and continued improvement in asset quality across Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

While CIMB Malaysia is expected to track the domestic economy and investment climate, CIMB Singapore's prospects however will be driven by regional economic conditions whilst CIMB Thai and CIMB Niaga’s business recalibration initiatives are progressing well.

“We are finalising our next mid-term growth plan which will be strongly premised on customers, people and sustainability, among others.

“We have already begun embedding sustainability principles into our operations Group-wide, and this is complemented by CIMB’s founding membership of the United Nations’ (UN) Environment Programme Finance Initiative Principles for Responsible Banking (UNEP-FI).

“Coupled with our strengthened capital position, disciplined cost management and continued focus on customer experience, we are confident that we will be able to serve our stakeholders not just effectively, but also sustainably,” continued Tengku Zafrul.

The 1H18 net earnings per share (EPS) stood at 25.4 sen, while the annualised ROE was 9.7%.

The Group declared a first interim net dividend of 13.00 sen per share to be paid via cash or an optional Dividend Reinvestment Scheme (DRS) and the total interim dividend amounts to a payment of about RM1.22 billion, translating to a dividend payout ratio of 51.6 per cent of net profit in H1 2018.

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