KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): Public Bank Bhd reported a 0.8% rise in third quarter net profit at RM1.2 billion from a year earlier on higher net interest, besides fee and commission income. Foreign exchange gains also supported bottom line growth.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, Public Bank said its RM1.2 billion net profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) compared to RM1.19 billion previously.

"The improved earnings was mainly due to higher net interest income, higher foreign exchange income and higher net fee and commission income, partially offset by higher other operating expenses and higher loan impairment allowances," Public Bank said.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY15), net profit rose to RM3.57 billion from RM3.26 billion a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM14.25 billion versus RM12.33 billion.

As at Sept 30, Public Bank said gross loans rose 12.9% to RM268 billion from RM237.5 billion a year earlier. Customers' deposits climbed 10.4% to RM296.3 billion.

In a separate statement, Public Bank founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said the group would capitalise on its strength in retail financing to further grow income.

Teh said Malaysia's domestic demand expansion would support the banking sector here.

"Our strategies for the Public Bank group is to remain focused on its core retail banking and financing business, whilst maintaining its prudent credit policies, as well as upholding strong corporate governance.

"The group will continue to leverage on its strong PB (Public Bank) brand and its wide and efficient branch network as well as its excellent customer service to support long-term sustainable growth," he said.

At 12.30pm, Public Bank shares fell six sen or 0.3% to settle at RM18.58, valuing the group at RM71.75 billion. The stock saw some two million 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.)