United Overseas Bank Ord (UOVEF) Q2 2025 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning everyone and thank you for coming in a little earlier than usual today. Welcome to our second quarter 2025 results media briefing. Today we have with us our Deputy Chairman and Group CEO Mr. Wee Cheong and our Group CFO Mr. Leong Yong Chee. As usual, Mr. Wee will begin by giving a broad overview of how our franchise has done and the operating landscape we are in. And then Mr. Leong will then go into more details on the financials and business performances. After both presentations, we will take questions from the media. I would now like to invite the CEO to get us going, Mr Wee. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. The microenvironment remains fluid with geopolitical tensions and shift in global trade in a multi-polar world. Amid uncertainties, regional economies are holding firm. ASEAN, while not immune, shows resilient growth. ASEAN fundamentals remain strong with competitive cost structure, improving infrastructures, and deepening trade linkages. This positions the region well to adapt and thrive in a complex global landscape. Amid global uncertainties, our core business and financial performance held steady. Operating profit for the first half year rose 3% from the same period last year, driven by strong fee growth. After taking a conservative approach to increase our reserve, net profit came in at 2.8 billion, down 3% year-on-year. Net interest income was flat as loan growth offset the impact of declining interest rates. Margin compressed in line with the external environment, but we continue to proactively optimize our cost of funds and rebalance our portfolio. Fee income shows strong momentum, up 11%. led by loan and wealth fees and robust treasury income supported by healthy client flows. This performance reflects the strength...