This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 4, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: RCE Capital Bhd’s (RCE Cap) net profit went up more than four times to RM13 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (3QFY16), from RM3.13 million a year ago, as its revenue rose 23.9%, driven primarily by higher interest income.

The improvement was also because of a RM1.9 million net gain on disposal of an investment property, its bourse filing yesterday showed. RCE Cap also noted its last corresponding quarter’s net profit had taken into consideration the preference share dividend that had been paid, which amounted to RM9.39 million.

Its 3QFY16 revenue rose 23.9% to RM41.55 million from RM33.54 million in the previous year, mainly contributed by a RM7.9 million rise in interest income from the loan financing segment, on a higher loan base and improved margin products.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY16), the group’s net profit more than doubled to RM32.66 million from RM15.65 million in 9MFY15, while revenue rose 22.6% to RM118.08 million from RM96.3 million, primarily driven by higher interest income, as its loan base grew by 16.9% to RM1.36 billion from RM1.16 billion.

The group said in a statement the results were due to its initiatives to improve asset quality. “The group remains focused on strengthening credit quality, improving turnaround time for loan disbursements and controlling costs.”

Barring unforeseen circumstances, it expects its performance in FY16 to be better than the previous year’s results.