KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): AMMB Holdings Bhd's net profit rose 12% to RM519.22 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 (4QFY15) from RM463.71 million a year earlier. Profit grew mainly on bad loan allowance write-backs.

The write-backs had mitigated the impact of lower revenue as interest and Islamic banking income fell, AMMB (fundamental: 1.7; valuation: 3) said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today. AMMB said revenue was lower at RM2.22 billion compared to RM2.44 billion.

For the full year, AMMB said net profit climbed to RM1.92 billion from RM1.78 billion a year earlier. Revenue, however, decreased to RM9.14 billion from RM9.61 billion.

The group has proposed a dividend of 15.3 sen per share for 4QFY15, bringing full-year dividends to 27.3 sen.

“At AmBank Group, we continue to be guided by our medium term FY15-17 strategic agenda to deliver on focused organic growth, leverage strategic partnerships and deliver on acquisitions, continue to optimise efficiency and build sustainability," acting group managing director Datuk Mohamed Azmi Mahmood said in a statement today.

"We recognise that the external environment is changing and the need to stay responsive to drive growth," Mohamed Azmi said.

According to AMMB's income statement, 4QFY15 net interest income fell to RM471.34 million from RM578.33 million a year earlier. Net Islamic banking income dropped to RM224.62 million from RM251.75 million.

Write-backs on bad loan allowance were higher at RM59.42 million versus a provision of RM63.92 million.

At 2.33pm, AMMB shares fell four sen or 0.6% to RM6.33 for a market value of RM19.08 billion.

A total of 233,500 shares changed hands.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)