Maybank Third-Quarter Net Profit Rises 13%

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Malayan Banking Bhd. (1155.KU) reported a 13% increase in net profit for the third quarter, driven mainly by higher net interest income and income from Islamic-banking operations.

Higher net earned insurance premiums and share of profits from associates and joint ventures also helped to boost the bank's earnings during the quarter, Malaysia's largest lender by assets said in a stock-exchange filing Thursday.

Net profit for the July-September period rose to 2.03 billion ringgit ($496.3 million) from MYR1.79 billion a year ago, beating the mean estimate of MYR1.79 billion polled by Eikon.

Revenue for the quarter rose 2.7% to MYR11.59 billion from MYR11.29 billion a year earlier, the filing showed.

Maybank said the Southeast Asian countries in which it has presence could report relatively faster economic growth in 2017.

"We are now seeing a pickup in business and loan growth as well as market sentiments, which we intend to leverage further in the coming months," Maybank Group President and Chief Executive Abdul Farid Alias said in a statement.

Maybank expects its financial performance for 2017 to be satisfactory, according to notes accompanying its financial statement.

It said its key performance indicator for return on equity is 10%-11% and loans growth is expected to be around 3%.

On Tuesday, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. (1023.KU) reported a 11% increase in third-quarter profit on higher operating income and a better share of results from joint ventures.

Write to Yantoultra Ngui at yantoultra.ngui@wsj.com

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November 30, 2017 01:57 ET (06:57 GMT)