Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) announced on Wednesday that its first-quarter net profit fell less than expected due to squeeze from net interest margins, and it maintained its revenue growth forecast for 2024.
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Singapore’s UOB It was announced on Wednesday that due to the squeeze of net interest margin, first-quarter net profit fell less than expected, and it maintained its revenue growth forecast for 2024.
“Despite heightened geopolitical tensions, our Southeast Asia region remains relatively resilient,” UOB CEO Ng Yip Cheong said in a statement.
“We continue to see continued changes in global supply chains and continued travel activity,” he added.
UOB, which is also Southeast Asia’s third-largest bank by assets, also maintained guidance for low-single-digit loan growth and double-digit fee growth, according to Wong’s earnings presentation slides.
The bank maintained its 2024 core cost-to-income ratio guidance at around 41% to 42%, with credit costs at the lower end of 25 to 30 basis points, according to the slides.
In recent years, Singapore has benefited from strong inflows of wealth from Asia, including China, as well as Europe and the Americas, and has been attracted by Singapore’s political stability.
This was reflected in UOB’s first-quarter results, with assets under management growing 11% to S$179 billion (US$132.04 billion).
UOB’s larger peer DBS Group Earlier this month, the company reported a 15% increase in first-quarter net profit, a record high, beating expectations, and expected net profit in 2024 to exceed last year’s record performance.
OCBC Bank Results will be announced on May 10.
UOB said net profit fell to S$1.49 billion in the January-March period from S$1.51 billion in the same period last year due to lower profit margins and lower net interest income.
However, this beat the S$1.43 billion average estimate of three analysts surveyed by LSEG.
Net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, fell to 2.02% in the first quarter from 2.14% in the same period last year.
UOB’s return on equity fell to 14.0% in the first quarter, down from 14.9% a year ago.
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