Public Bank Bhd shares fell 11 sen or 2.14% to RM5.04 at 12.30pm on Thursday, despite the lender reporting a steady first half of 2026 performance with net profit rising 2.0% year-on-year to RM3.58 billion.
The counter opened at RM5.16 and touched an intraday high of RM5.16 before easing to a low of RM5.03. Some 18.12 million shares changed hands as investors weighed the latest earnings against the stock’s recent performance.
The decline came a day after Public Bank reported pre-tax profit of RM4.71 billion for 1HFY26, up 1.3% from the corresponding period last year, while operating profit increased 3.4%.
The group’s performance was supported by a 12.2% increase in non-interest and non-financing income to RM1.80 billion, led by stronger contributions from its unit trust, foreign exchange and general insurance businesses. Net interest and financing income grew 0.5% amid intense competition in loans and deposits.
Public Bank’s total loans grew at an annualised rate of 5.9% to RM458.9 billion, with domestic loans expanding 6.2% to RM434.1 billion.
Asset quality remained sound, with its gross impaired loans ratio at 0.54%, while its cost-to-income ratio stood at 35.1%. The group also maintained a net return on equity of 12.2%.
The lender declared a 10.5 sen dividend for the period, payable in September.
