KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLBB) reported a 3.8% increase in net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2015 (3QFY15) to RM519.17 million, or 29.39 sen per share from RM500.05 million or 28.4 sen per share in 3QFY14, led by a healthy growth in net interest income, improved asset quality and strong contribution from associates.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, HLBB said that for the nine months ended March 31, 2015 (9MFY15) it had reported a 3.42% increase in net profit to RM1.62 billion or 91.62 sen per share, from RM1.56 billion or 88.87 sen per share in the same period a year ago.

In terms of revenue, HLBB reported a 4.2% increase in revenue to RM988.11 million in 3QFY15, from RM948.27 million in 3QFY14, mainly due to a better performance from its global markets segment.

The banking group recorded a marginal 0.22% decrease in 9MFY15 revenue to RM3.03 billion from RM3.033 billion in the same period a year ago.

No interim dividend was proposed for the current quarter.

In a separate statement today, HLBB group managing director and chief executive officer Tan Kong Khoon said the banking landscape would remain challenging amid a softer growth outlook.

“Safeguarding our business franchise and margins will continue to be key, moving forward,” he said.

HLBB (fundamental:2.8; valuation: 2.2) shares were trading up 4 sen or 0.29% to RM13.72 in the morning session, with 224,300 shares traded.

(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.)