SINGAPORE: DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Southeast Asia's biggest lender, beat market estimates on Monday (Apr 29) to post a record quarterly profit, as strong net interest income offset weakness in wealth management, brokerage and investment banking fees.
First quarter profit rose 8.5 per cent on a year earlier, while DBS, the first Singapore bank to kick off the sector's results, said the macro-economic environment had stabilized somewhat.
Advertisement"We have had a good start to the year as business momentum was sustained and non-interest income recovered from the recent weakness," CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement.
Net profit came in at S$1.65 billion (US$1.21 billion) for the three months ending March versus S$1.52 billion a year earlier and an average estimate of S$1.48 billion from four analysts, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S.
After three years of strong loans growth, Singapore's banks are gearing up for tougher times as the city-state's export-reliant economy slows, partly due to a trade war between China and the United States, analysts say.
"The record earnings and Return on Equity (ROE) progression demonstrate the strengthened profitability of our franchise from digitalization, a shift towards higher-returns businesses and more nimble execution," Gupta said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNet interest margin rose five basis points to 1.88 per cent, in line with higher interest rates in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...