KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Public Bank Bhd rose as much as 20 sen or 1% to RM19.44, ahead of its first quarter results which will be announced soon.

At 12.30pm, Public Bank (fundamental: 2.8; valuation: 1.8) pared gains to settle at RM19.42 with some two million shares done. The stock was the fifth largest gainer across Bursa Malaysia.

At 2:44pm, Public Bank shares were transacted at RM19.40. The shares had gained 6% this year versus the FBM KLCI 5% rise.

Public Bank's financials have improved. Net profit rose to RM4.52 billion in financial year ended Dec 31, 2014, from RM4.06 billion a year earlier. Revenue climbed to RM16.86 billion, from RM15.26 billion.

Last month (March 2015), Public Bank said it had received approval from the State Bank of Vietnam to buy the remaining 50% stake in VID Public Bank (VPB) from Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

Public Bank, which already owns 50% in VPB, would buy the remaining stake for US$76.6 million (approximately RM245 million, based on exchange rates in July 2014). Public Bank had then signed a conditional equity capital transfer agreement with BIDV for the planned transaction.

According to Public Bank, the acquisition of the balance 50% in VPB would transform VPB into a 100% foreign-owned bank in Vietnam.

(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.)