KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd’s (KL:HLFG) net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2024 (3QFY2024) expanded 11.2% to RM818.07 million against RM735.97 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher contributions from its commercial bank.

Quarterly revenue was up marginally by 3.8% to RM1.7 billion compared to RM1.64 billion in the previous corresponding quarter, according to its bourse filing. The group did not declare any dividend for the quarter under review.

HLFG’s 64%-owned commercial bank Hong Leong Bank Bhd (KL:HLBANK) recorded a 12% increase in net profit to RM1.04 billion from RM929.96 million a year earlier, thanks to higher interest income and provision writeback.

As for its 70%-owned investment banking arm Hong Leong Capital Bhd (KL:HLCAP), the company logged a 70.5% surge in net profit to RM22.47 million from RM13.18 million previously, mainly on fair value gain on investments and higher contribution across all divisions.

Meanwhile, its wholly owned insurance arm HLA Holdings Sdn Bhd’s profit before tax was almost flat at RM194.1 million versus RM192.8 million a year ago, on higher life fund surplus and revenue, offset by higher operating costs.

For the nine months ended March 31, 2024 (9MFY2024), HLFG registered a 7.9% increase in net profit to RM2.39 billion versus RM2.22 billion in the same period a year ago. Its accumulative revenue was largely flat with a 1.2% drop to RM4.93 billion as compared to RM4.99 billion.

Premised on a challenging operating environment, HLFG said it will maintain a cautious stance for the remainder of the financial year and focus on delivering sustainable and improved performance by growing targeted segments, developing new product offerings as well as enhancing customer-centricity.

The group noted it will manage asset quality appropriately and uphold its loan monitoring and credit risk management while maintaining a strong capital and liquidity position to support asset growth.

“This is on top of prudent cost control, advancing the sustainability agenda and continuous technology investment in operational resiliency and digital capabilities across all operating companies,” it added.

At the time of writing, shares in HLFG were four sen higher at RM17.50, valuing the group at RM20.08 billion.