KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) reported a 12% drop in net profit for its third quarter ended March 31, 2015 (3QFY15) to RM363.5 million from RM414.68 million a year earlier as insurance and Islamic banking income fell.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, HLFG (fundamental: 2.6; valuation: 2.4) reported that revenue fell to RM1.046 billion from RM1.053 billion.

Cumulative net profit for the nine months decreased to RM1.18 billion from RM1.26 billion a year earlier. Revenue decreased to RM3.27 billion from RM3.4 billion.

For 3QFY15, the group proposed a dividend of 25 sen a share. Its shares will trade ex-dividend on on June 10 this year while the payment date date falls on June 26.

HLFG owns 64.37% in Hong Leong Bank Bhd.

In a separate statement, HLFG president and chief executive officer Raymond Choong said the group's global operating environment was expected to remain challenging.

“However, HLFG’s earnings have been stable and we continue to see progress in the underlying longer term key business indicators, especially in the life insurance business, we will continue to optimise our cost structure and remain focused on building long-term value,” said Choong.

At 3.45pm, HLFG shares fell 26 sen or 1.6% to RM15.88 for a market capitalisation of RM28.58 billion.

A total of 140,900 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.)