SCB X Public Company Limited (SCBX) reported consolidated net profit of Baht 11.9 billion for the second quarter of 2023, up 18.1% YoY, from strong top-line growth, effective cost control and prudent risk management. For the first half of 2023, net profit increased 13.8% YoY to Baht 22.9 billion.

For the second quarter, net interest income rose 18.1% YoY to Baht 30.8 billion from quality loan growth strategy and expansion in consumer finance business.

Fee and other income increased 0.8% YoY to Baht 11.1 billion, reflecting a rebound in transactional banking and loan-related fee. Investment and trading income also increased 50.5% YoY to Baht 2.4 billion from mark-to-market valuation on investment portfolios.

Operating expenses went up 6.8% YoY to Baht 17.0 billion while total revenue grew 14.5% YoY. As a result, the cost-to-income ratio for the second quarter at 38.4% showed a further decrease from the previous quarter.

In light of the fragile economic recovery and higher risk factors arising from both domestic and external headwinds, the Company proactively set aside provisions of Baht 12.1 billion, up 18.0% YoY, to strengthen operations of banking and unsecured consumer finance business. Therefore, the provisioning raised the non-performing loan (NPL) coverage ratio for the quarter to 170.6%.

The overall loan quality remained under control at the end of June 2023 as the NPL ratio stood at 3.25%, down marginally from 3.32% at the end of March 2023. The capital adequacy ratio remained strong at 18.7%.

Arthid Nanthawithaya, Chief Executive Officer of SCBX, commented:

“SCBX showed resilient financial results in the second half of 2023 with ROE rising to 10% for the first time since the pandemic crisis. SCBX also maintains its prudent business approach to cope with economic headwinds while maximizing shareholder value. In addition, SCBX Group remains committed to building new growth engines. Recently, we announced a partnership with KakaoBank, a leading digital bank in South Korea, to jointly apply for a virtual banking license in Thailand and launched ride-hailing services on Robinhood platform. Another milestone was our remarkable success with the debut debenture offering worth Baht 50 billion. This success echoed the public's confidence in the SCBX Group’s business potential.”