Investing.com-- Shares of Singapore’s largest bank, DBS Group (SGX:DBSM), jumped to an all-time high on Monday after the company reported an increase in fourth-quarter net profit, and forecasted better net interest income for the current year.
DBS Group’s fourth-quarter net profit rose 10% to S$2.62 billion ($1.93 billion), up from S$2.39 billion the previous year. This growth was driven by higher net interest income and robust performance in its wealth management division, the company said in a statement.
For the full-year, net profit rose 11% to $11.4 billion, the company said.
Following the earnings announcement, DBS shares jumped more than 4% to hit a record high of S$46.50 in early trade.
Looking ahead, DBS anticipates that its net interest income for fiscal 2025 will slightly exceed the S$15.04 billion recorded in 2024, on expectations of continued growth despite global economic uncertainties.
The bank’s net interest margin, a key profitability indicator, improved to 2.15% from 2.13% in the same quarter last year, signaling effective management of interest-earning assets.
"Balance sheet management supported net interest income growth while improving investor sentiment drove wealth management fees and treasury customer sales to new highs," DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement.
In addition to the strong earnings, DBS declared a final dividend of 60 Singapore cents per share, up from 54 cents the previous year. The bank also announced a capital return dividend of 15 Singapore cents per share per quarter for 2025.