SCB X Public Company Limited (SET: SCB) reported consolidated net profit of Baht 9.7 billion for the third quarter of 2023, down 6.3% YoY. Given the prevailing geopolitical uncertainty, the company has set aside an additional provision of Baht 1.5 billion as a matter of prudent practice. Net profit for the first nine months of 2023 increased 7.0% YoY to Baht 32.5 billion. As for Siam Commercial Bank, the core pillar of the group, reported net profit of Baht 11.8 billion in the third quarter of 2023, a 6.3% decrease YoY. However, the Bank’s net profit for the first nine months of 2023 increased 21.2% YoY to Baht 36.6 billion.
For the third quarter of 2023, total operating income was Baht 43.3 billion, increased 9.0% YoY from net interest income of Baht 31.5 billion or 13.8% increase YoY mainly due to steady loan growth and net interest margin expansion. Fee and other income decreased 9.2% YoY to Baht 10.7 billion while investment and trading income almost tripled YoY reaching Baht 1.1 billion this quarter. Operating expenses for this quarter was Baht 18.5 billion resulting in the cost-to-income ratio of 42.7% reflecting our commitment to cost management.
In light of rising geopolitical uncertainty, the company proactively added a provision of Baht 1.5 billion, bringing the total provision for this quarter to Baht 12.2 billion, equivalent to the credit cost of 2.01%. The non-performing loan (NPL) coverage ratio remained high at 167.2%.
The overall loan quality remained under control. At the end of September 2023, the NPL ratio stood at 3.30%, slightly up from 3.25% at the end of June 2023. The capital adequacy ratio remained strong at 18.7%.
Arthid Nanthawithaya, Chief Executive Officer of SCBX, commented:
“SCBX has continued to demonstrate solid performance in the third quarter of 2023, characterized by strong revenue growth, effective cost management, and prudent risk management led by the Siam Commercial Bank, the core pillar of the group with capability to generate substantial earnings. The company proactively set aside an additional provision this quarter as a prudent response to the prevailing global geopolitical uncertainty, while maintaining overall loan quality remained under control.
SCBX is firmly committed to developing its technological capabilities. Recently, the company proudly introduced “AreaX by SCBX”, a collaborative Tech Ecosystem situated within the area of “SIAM PARAGON NEXT TECH x SCBX”, designed to foster a learning community and promote innovation. SCBX is aiming to be an AI-First Organization with AI as the spearhead in generating income and has embarked on a journey into Research and Development (R&D) to actively developing innovative technologies to gain a competitive advantage and stay ahead of the curve in the industry. One of our R&D projects is the development of SCBX GPT, a Chat GPT that specifically tailored for the financial services sector and for Thai-speaking audience.
The company recently paid an interim dividend payment of Baht 2.5 per share, significantly higher than in previous years. This reflects our strong financial performance and our commitment to shareholder value creation.”
