Revenue for the fourth quarter rose marginally, by 3.29%, to RM1.16 billion from RM1.12 billion a year earlier, the bank said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

The group declared a final dividend of 12.3 sen per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 18.3 sen per share, a 35% payout ratio, with a payment date to be announced later.

For the full year (FY2023), the group’s net profit grew 15.5% year-on-year to RM1.74 billion from RM1.5 billion.

“We surpassed the goals we set including achieving a return on equity (ROE) of 10%, fortifying our balance sheet, and paying out a much-improved dividend payout ratio to reward our shareholders,” said group CEO Sulaiman Tahir in a separate news release today.

The group’s gross loans and financing grew 8.5% to RM130.2 billion in FY2023 from RM120 billion last year.

Customer deposits also increased 6.3% to RM130.3 billion, primarily fuelled by current account and savings account (CASA) balances which grew by 13.2% to RM48.8 billion, it said.

Efficient financial management kept expenses steady at RM2.1 billion, culminating in lower cost-to-income of 44.3%, and an improvement from 44.9% in FY2022, AmBank said.

All of AmBank’s business segments posted a profit after tax except general insurance which posted a loss after tax and minority interest of RM7 million.

Going forward, Sulaiman said despite the external challenges to the economy, the group remains optimistic.

“The robust domestic demand, the labour market resurgence, the steady execution of multi-year investment projects, and the anticipated increase in tourism activities experienced in FY2023 should continue to buoy us in FY2024, albeit potentially at a more measured pace.”

At press time, the group’s share price rose 0.29% or 1 sen to RM3.50, giving the bank a market capitalisation of RM11.6 billion.