UOB Malaysia's net profit after tax increases by eight per cent to RM1.24 billion in 2018
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 29 April 2019 –United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) has reported a net profit after tax of RM1.24 billion for the financial year ended 2018, eight per cent higher over the previous year. The Bank’s earnings growth was driven by its commitment to meet its long-term strategic priorities.
In 2018, the Bank’s total operating income increased by 3.6 per cent to RM3.0 billion. Net interest income grew 2.3 per cent to RM2.07 billion, contributed by higher interest income from loans, fair value through other comprehensive incomes, as well as available-for-sale securities. Non-interest income grew 4.6 per cent to RM0.9 billion, supported by higher fee income and foreign exchange gains. Net income from the Bank’s Islamic Banking business also increased by 72.2 per cent to RM40.8 million during the year. Gross loans, advances and financing rose 5.3 per cent to RM83.3 billion and non-bank deposits increased by 6.4 per cent to RM88.7 billion in the same period.
UOB Malaysia continued to manage expenses prudently and maintained a cost-to-income ratio of 39 per cent in 2018. Total operating expenses increased by 8.1 per cent to RM1.17 billion as the Bank continued to invest in its people and technology infrastructure to support its business growth.
Mr Wong Kim Choong, Chief Executive Officer, UOB Malaysia, said the 2018 performance was a result of the Bank’s commitment to continue investing in long-term strategic growth drivers and to act in the best interests of its customers.
“In 2018, we remained steadfast in placing our customers first and continued to support them in navigating the challenging market environment. This enabled us to achieve stable performance despite headwinds from escalating trade tensions and the resulting cautious business sentiment. We continued to meet our strategic objectives of capitalising on UOB Group’s regional network and enhancing the customer experience through digital innovation. We invested in technology to improve our product and service capabilities to meet consumers’ changing lifestyle needs and to help businesses increase their productivity.”
Harnessing Technology to Drive Regional Business Connectivity and to Make Banking Simpler, Smarter and Safer
To make banking simpler, smarter and safer for customers, the Bank introduced UOB Mighty Secure, its digital security token solution to enable customers to authenticate their Personal Internet Banking and UOB Mighty (mobile banking) transactions securely and conveniently without the need for SMS-OTP. In line with Bank Negara Malaysia’s initiative to create a cashless society, the Bank also provided customers with a wider choice of e-payment solutions. For example, UOB Malaysia partnered with WeChat Pay MY, a major e-payment service payment provider in China and a new entrant to Malaysia to give customers greater value and choice of digital payment providers.
To help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) progress through their different stages of growth, UOB Malaysia designed convenient payment and business management solutions. In 2018, the Bank partnered software provider SAP to launch UOB SmartBusiness, an integrated suite of digital solutions that enables SMEs to digitalise and to automate their accounting, payroll and administrative functions. This allows SME business owners to raise productivity levels and to reduce overall operating costs.
To help companies manage their operations as they expand across Asia, the Bank enhanced its Business Internet Banking platform and its account receivables solution, the UOB Virtual Account. As a result, businesses can now monitor and optimise their cash flow across multiple locations in real-time and automate their end-to-end receivables process to drive operational efficiency.
Recognising that access to funding sources is a priority for most start-ups, UOB Malaysia partnered Funding Societies, a regional peer-to-peer digital financing platform, to help start-ups tap its global investor network to raise additional working capital.
“In 2019, we will continue to capitalise on regional growth drivers and to strengthen our digital and service capabilities. We will also create more solutions that are informed by insights and data analytics to enhance the customer experience in both conventional and Islamic Banking,” Mr Wong said.
UOB Malaysia’s Annual Report 2018 is available at www.uob.com.my.