KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 6): Shares in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd climbed in the morning session on Tuesday (Dec 6), after the country's first public-listed Islamic bank declared an interim dividend of 10.4 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022).
The stock rose as much as nine sen or 3.5% to RM2.66 a share within the first 30 minutes of the opening bell, before gains were pared.
At 10am, the counter was up six sen or 2.33% at RM2.63, with over 314,000 shares transacted. At RM2.63, Bank Islam was valued at RM5.67 billion.
On Monday, the bank announced an interim single-tier dividend of 10.4 sen per share, amounting to approximately RM224.15 million for FY2022. For previous years, it paid out higher dividends — a 10.93 sen dividend with a total payout of RM226.9 million for FY2021, a 12.6 sen dividend (totalling RM225.9 million) for FY2020, and a 16 sen dividend (RM282.3 million) for FY2019.
Bank Islam said in a statement that its board of directors had also determined that the dividend reinvestment plan will apply to the entire interim dividend, giving shareholders the option to reinvest the dividend into new ordinary shares.
Bank Islam posted a net profit of RM142.86 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), up 40.57% from RM101.63 million for 3QFY2021, on higher net income. Quarterly revenue rose 25.12% to RM933.68 million, from RM746.22 million a year earlier.
Net profit for the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2022, however, fell 19.52% to RM365.93 million, from RM454.67 million a year ago, mainly due to higher total overheads and net allowances for impairment on financing and advances. This was despite revenue for the period rising 7.62% to RM2.53 billion, from RM2.35 billion a year ago.
Going forward, the bank said it is looking to provide financial solutions across segments through its retail banking distribution and premier wealth banking, adding that it plans to optimise digitalisation in delivering convenient and personalised services to customers to enhance customer experience.
Bank Islam is also expanding its green financing portfolio and widening its exposure to new green segments, such as energy efficiency, net energy metering, office automation and waste management.