KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd's (HLFG) net profit fell 2% to RM441.25 million in the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2015 (4QFY15) from RM450.26 million a year earlier, mainly on higher minority interest.

In a statement to the exchange today, HLFG (fundamental: 2; valuation: 2.55) said revenue rose to RM1.22 billion from RM1.16 billion.

"HLFG recorded a profit before tax of RM780.5 million for the current quarter ended June 30, 2015 as compared to RM715.6 million in the previous corresponding quarter, an increase of RM64.9 million or 9.1%.

"The overall increase was mainly due to higher contribution from banking and insurance division," HLFG said. During 4QFY15, HLFG said minority interest rose to RM248.41 million from RM209.46 million.

Full-year net profit fell to RM1.62 billion from RM1.71 billion a year earlier. Revenue was lower at RM4.49 billion versus RM4.55 billion. For the quarter in review, HLFG paid a dividend of 25 sen a share, bringing full-year dividends to 38 sen.

HLFG's banking division comes under Hong Leong Bank Bhd. In a separate statement, Hong Leong Bank (fundamental: 2.8; valuation: 3) said its 4QFY15 net profit rose 14% to RM614.85 million from RM537.45 million a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM1.04 billion versus RM1.01 billion.

Hong Leong Bank said its full-year net profit rose to RM2.23 billion from RM2.1 billion a year earlier. Revenue climbed to RM4.07 billion from RM4.04 billion.

At 12.30pm, HLFG shares rose 14 sen or 1% to settle at RM13.22 for a market value of RM13.92 billion.

The stock saw 79,600 shares done.

(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.)