KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): Public Bank Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) dipped to RM1.36 billion from RM1.39 billion a year earlier on the back of lower revenue.

Revenue for the quarter dropped to RM4.81 billion from RM5.13 billion.

Earnings per share slipped to 7.01 sen from 7.18 sen.

The bank did not declare any dividend for the quarter.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, net profit rose to RM4.28 billion from RM3.72 billion a year earlier despite revenue coming in lower at RM14.76 billion from RM15.39 billon.

In a separate statement, Public Bank Bhd founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said the prevailing economic condition in 2021 remained challenging amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the reimposition of tighter containment measures during the third quarter of 2021 continued to dampen economic growth.

He added that during the quarter, the bank undertook multiple proactive initiatives in its business strategies and placed greater emphasis on risk management and productivity.

“These efforts enabled the group to continue to demonstrate resilience in its performance by registering a net return on equity of 12.4% and an efficient cost-to-income ratio of 31.7% during the nine months ended September 2021,” Teh said.

He added that at the end of September, Public Bank’s total loans recorded an annualised growth of 3% to RM353.5 billion.

He said domestic loans grew at an annualised rate of 2.8% to RM330.5 billion.

The stringent containment measures continued to weigh on consumer sentiments, leading to the slower growth in loans.

On deposit taking, Teh said the group’s total customer deposits grew at an annualised rate of 4.8% to RM378.9 billion, supported mainly by its low-cost current and savings deposits which grew at an annualised rate of 12.2%.

Domestically, he said total customer deposits grew at an annualised rate of 5.1% to RM350.5 billion.

On asset quality, Teh added that it was resilient and that Public Bank’s gross impaired loans ratio remained stable at 0.3% at the end of September.

He said despite the resilient asset quality, the group stayed cautious and further bolstered its loan loss provisions pre-emptively amid the challenging economic condition.

Teh said at the end of September, the group’s loan loss coverage ratio stood high at 320.8%, compared with the banking industry’s loan loss coverage of 120.5%.

“Including the RM0.4 billion regulatory reserves that had been set aside, the loan loss coverage ratio was higher at 358.5%,” he added.

On the bank's prospects, Teh said despite the continued challenging environment, Public Bank will remain steadfast in its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, uphold its strong asset quality as well as enhance cost efficiencies further.

“While embracing changes stemming from the pandemic, the group will continue its pursuit of digital transformation and product innovation to strengthen long-term business growth,” he said.

At the midday break on Monday (Nov 29), Public Bank settled three sen lower at RM3.97, valuing it at RM77.06 billion.