OSK's 6-month profit jumps 10pc

OSK Holdings Bhd's pre-tax profit for the six months ended June 30, 2011 jumped by 10 per cent while revenue rose 20 per cent on higher input from investment banking activities and increased fee income from unit trusts.

Its pre-tax profit for the period increased to RM90.38 million from RM82.08 million for the same period last year, while revenue jumped to RM546.715 million from RM454.9 million previously.

"The investment banking consisting mainly of derivatives structured products, corporate advisory and equities capital market activities remained as the top contributor to the group's pre-tax profit," it said in a statement today.

OSK said investment banking contributed RM38.12 million, or 42 per cent, of the group's pre-tax profit in the first six months compared with 48 per cent in the same period last year.

Loans and financing contributed RM30.63 million, or 34 per cent, of the group's pre-tax profit compared with RM22.83 million, or 28 per cent, for first six months of 2010, mainly driven by stronger loan growth, it said.

In terms of geographical segments, OSK said, the Malaysian operations contributed 83 per cent of the group's pre-tax profit, followed by Singapore (22 per cent) and Hong Kong (four per cent).

OSK said it expected the remaining year to remain challenging due to the intense volatility and acute risk aversion in financial markets and expected the group to perform satisfactorily in 2011.

It has recommended an interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share. -- Bernama