EON Cap Q4 net profit down 6% on higher expenses

By EDY SARIF
edy@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: EON Capital Bhd has posted a lower net profit of RM61.59mil for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 (FY09), down 6.3% compared with RM65.7mil in the previous corresponding period on higher operating and taxation expenses.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the group said revenue declined to RM599.07mil from RM690.96mil in the previous corresponding period while earnings per share were 8.88 sen against 9.48 sen in the same period last year.
The group has proposed first and final tax-exempt dividend of 10 sen per share amounting to RM69.32mil for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2009 compared with 5.77 sen per share dividend in 2008.
Meanwhile, at a press conference on EON Bank’s results yesterday, group chief executive officer Michael Lor said the group had posted a higher net profit of RM341.1mil for the year ended Dec 31 (FY09).
“This was due to strong loans and deposits growth driven by our transformation programme (investment in infrastructure, systems and marketing position), bringing the group’s net profit higher to more than 155% compared with RM133.7mil in 2008,” he said.
An analyst contacted by StarBizWeek said the group’s FY09’s performance was within her expectation but the bank’s loan and deposit growth were stronger than expected.
Revenue for FY09 declined to RM2.39bil from RM2.58bil in 2008 while earnings per share were 49.2 sen compared with 19.3 sen in 2008.
Lor said the group’s market share for domestic loans and advances rose to 4.2% as at end-Nov 2009 from 4.1% at end-2008. Total credit card receivables rose to RM1.45bil, an increase of nearly RM253.2mil or 21.2%.
He said the group was confident of achieving its target of 14% loans growth in 2010 as undrawn loan commitments had increased by RM2.1bil or 16.1% during the year to RM15bil compared with RM12.9 bil in 2008.
Its net loans, advances and financing expanded by RM2.4bil last year, driven mainly by growth in housing loans, other term loans/finance, hire purchase receivables and credit cards as well as commercial lending to small and medium-scale enterprises.
Lor said the group’s lending was mainly in the consumer and SME sectors, which accounted for 59.8% and 20.4% respectively of the total loans outstanding as at end 2009.
The group’s core capital ratio (CCR) improved to 11.2% in 2009 from 9.2% last year, while the risk-weighted capital ratio (RWCR) improved to 14.4% from 12.6% last year, representing further improvement from the group’s prior quarter CCR of 10.93% and RWCR of 13.46%.