SINGAPORE (Feb 7): DBS Group, Singapore’s largest bank, has revised its net interest income outlook for 2024 to around last year’s levels after a 2% rise in fourth-quarter net profit beat expectations. maintained.
“While interest rates are expected to decline and geopolitical tensions continue, the strength of our franchise will position us to sustain our performance next year,” DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement. .
In addition to keeping net interest income at around 2023 levels, Mr. This was revealed in the slides attached to the financial results.
Full-year net interest margin (NIM), a key measure of profitability, is expected to be slightly lower than the fourth quarter’s NIM of 2.13%.
Singapore’s banks, Southeast Asia’s largest, are expected to post higher profits in the fourth quarter as interest rates rise, but growth will decline as the central bank moves to cut interest rates and volatile markets weigh on wealth businesses. The momentum is expected to slow down.
DBS, which was the first Singaporean financial institution to report its financial results for the current period, posted a net profit of S$2.39 billion for the October-December period, up from S$2.34 billion in the same period last year, on the back of a 9% increase in total revenue. 8.4 billion ringgit).
This beat the average forecast of four analysts of S$2.37 billion, according to LSEG data.
DBS, which is also Southeast Asia’s largest bank, proposed a final dividend of 54 cents per share and a bonus issue of one in every 10 shares.
NIM for the quarter was 2.13%, up from 2.05% in the same period last year.
Full-year profit rose 26% to S$10.3 billion from S$8.19 billion in 2022. Return on equity reached a record high of 18%, up from 15% the previous year.
Nevertheless, despite record profits in 2023, variable remuneration for the CEO and other members of the Group Management Committee was The amount was reduced by 21% compared to the previous year.
Mr. Gupta received a further 30% share worth S$4.14 million, DBS said in a statement.