Earnings miss S$1.44 billion consensus estimate; H2 dividend of S$0.71 a share down from S$0.92 before.

UOB’s net profit for the fourth quarter fell 7 per cent on the back of margin pressures from lower benchmark rates, the lender said on Tuesday (Feb 24).

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2025, came in at S$1.41 billion, compared with S$1.52 billion a year earlier. 

This was below the S$1.44 billion consensus estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The bank also missed estimates in the third quarter on a more than four-time jump in allowances for credit and other losses to S$1.36 billion. Q4’s figure was a modest S$113 million.

The bank declared a dividend of S$0.71 per share for the half-year, down from S$0.92 in the corresponding period in the previous year.

This brings the full-year dividend to S$1.56 per share, representing a payout ratio of about 50 per cent. 

Net interest income fell 4 per cent in Q4 to S$2.35 billion, as margin headwinds outweighed loan growth.

Net interest margin narrowed to 1.84 per cent from 2 per cent previously.

Net fee income increased 10 per cent to S$625 million. Other non-interest income slipped 28 per cent year on year to S$319 million.

The non-performing loans ratio remained unchanged at 1.5 per cent.

For the full year, net profit fell 23 per cent to S$4.68 billion as net interest income dipped while net fee income rose 7 per cent to a record high of S$2.6 billion on a jump in wealth management and loan-related fees. Earnings per share slipped to S$2.76 from S$3.56 previously.