Maybank said it achieved a higher bottomline in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, as it registered higher core fees as well as an increase in treasury and market gains.

In the quarter under review, the country’s largest bank by assets posted a net profit of US528,4 M, up from US481,7 M in the same quarter last year, raising its earnings per share to 20.63 sen from 18.79 sen.

It reported revenue of US3,894 Bi, a jump up from US3,223 Bi in the comparative quarter.

According to Maybank, net operating income rose a strong 19.8% to , mainly on the back of 79.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in non-interest income (NOII) as well as better investment and trading income.

Net fund based income improved to US1,027 Bi from US1,018 Bi a year earlier due to strong group gross loans growth of 11.2% from all key segments in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

This was despite a 19bps decrease in net interest margin (NIM) due to higher funding costs across the home markets.

The bank reported an increase in overhead costs at US777 M  compared with US647 M a year earlier.

Net impairment provisions rose to US 115.5 M from US 62.2 M a year earlier on a 29.9% increase in net provisions for loans to US 99.2 M and US 14.3 M for financial investments and others.

President and group CEO Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said the commendable first-quarter earnings is testament to Maybank’s resilience and focus in executing its M25+ strategy

“We remain resolute, adapting and advancing the Agile ways of working to continue our progress on strategic initiatives towards meeting customer expectations.

“Our leadership in sustainability puts us in a good position to exceed our set targets to deploy sustainable financing and decarbonisation solutions not only to our large corporate customers but also to the mid-sized and small firms,” he said.

During the first quarter, group gross loans grew 11.2% y-o-y on increases in all its home markets, while deposits expanded 8.9% on the same.