Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) - Phillip Securities 2020-02-24: Earnings Hoisted On Stellar Trading Gains

OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORP (SGX:O39)

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) - Earnings Hoisted On Stellar Trading Gains

OCBC Bank (SGX:O39)'s 4Q19 revenue and earnings exceeded expectations. Net profit grew 34% y-o-y and q-o-q improvement of 6% despite seasonally slower 4Q compared to 3Q.
NII grew 6% y-o-y on 7bps NIM expansion and modest loans growth of 3%. NIM held steady at 1.77% q-o-q on lower funding costs despite pressure on asset yield.
Non-interest income grew 58% y-o-y, with the quadrupling of other NII from trading income, and double-digit growths experienced across fee income (+17% y-o-y) and insurance income (+25% y-o-y).

Final dividend of $0.28 to bring OCBC's FY19 distribution to $0.53 per share compared to $0.43 in FY18 (+23% y-o-y). This translates to a c.4.8% dividend yield based on current prices.
We maintain ACCUMULATE at a higher target price of S$12.10 (previously S$11.70). We roll forward our Gordon Growth Model to FY20e without changes to estimations.

NIM was held steady q-o-q through the management of funding costs despite pressure from lower asset yields as a result of macroeconomic conditions.

Fee income rose 17% y-o-y to $556mn, above the previous quarterly record of $550mn. The bank continues to experience strong WM (+31% y-o-y) and loan-related fees (+17% y-o-y) to see fee income grow for 4 consecutive quarters.

Premium income increased by 7% y-o-y while investment income reversed losses on mark-to-market gains. Overall, Great Eastern Holdings put up a 4Q strong performance helped to lift net profit contribution to the bank’ by 38% to $832mn in FY19 (FY18: $604mn).

Trading income skyrocketed to $316mn from $9mn the previous year driven by higher gains on treasury activities, rise in customer flow income as well as mark-to-market gains.

While CIR improved to 43.3% in 4Q19 compared to 45.9% in 4Q18, the impact of the cost increase was largely offset by exceptional growth in earnings. Operating margins may narrow as income normalise in the long run, and the bank is placing emphasis on cost management to achieve a stable 40% CIR.

OCBC continues to exhibit strong financial and capital position; with CET1 ratio higher at 14.9% compared to 14.0% a year ago. To provide a progressive and sustainable dividend consistent with long-term growth, OCBC has proposed a final dividend of 28 cents, bringing FY19 dividend to 53 cents, an increase of 23% from FY18 (43 cents).

The bank saw 4Q19 recoveries and upgrades of allowances from impairment to OSV loan book. While asset quality should improve moving forward after one-time write-off, allowances may be strained as a result of the Covid-19 virus. The outbreak has a potential impact on up to 10% of the loan book by the bank.

NIM contraction in FY20e will offset growth in loans. FY20e growth will stem from fee income and trading gains. Credit cost is expected to be stable. There has been no observable worsening of loan quality from Greater China.

We roll forward our Gordon growth model to FY20 e with no changes to underlying assumptions. Our FY20e forecasts remain on the lower band of management guidance; with NIM back to FY18 levels (1.70%) and a slower loan growth accompanied with slower macroeconomic conditions.
See OCBC Bank Share Price; OCBC Bank Target Price; OCBC Bank Analyst Reports; OCBC Bank Dividend History; OCBC Bank Announcements; OCBC Bank Latest News.

Tay Wee Kuang Phillip Securities Research | https://www.stocksbnb.com/ 2020-02-24

SGX Stock Analyst Report ACCUMULATE MAINTAIN ACCUMULATE 12.10 UP 11.700