KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Thai could begin to show meaningful contribution to CIMB Group 's earnings following a strong earnings performance in the first quarter, says MIDF research.In its recent earnings announcement, CIMB Thai showed strong growth in earnings led by NII expansion and a drop in provisions. "CIMB Thai 1QFY19 net profit grew +92.4%yoy to THB325m. "We opine that this was partly from the sale of NPLs. "The gross NPL stood at THB10.0b, with a stable gross NPL ratio of 4.3%, unchanged from the previous quarter and improved from 5.2% as at 1QFY18," said the research house.Moving forward, MIDF also expects Indonesia's CIMB Niaga to have a positive impact on the group's earnings. "The research house maintained its buy call on CIMB with a target price of RM7.55.

Source: The Star April 19, 2019 00:45 UTC