UOB Q4 profit down 7% to S$1.41 billion; to give junior staff one-off supplementary payout
[SINGAPORE] UOB’s net profit for the fourth quarter fell 7 per cent on the back of margin pressures from lower benchmark rates, the lender said on Tuesday (Feb 24).
Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2025 came in at S$1.41 billion, compared with S$1.52 billion a year earlier.
This was below the S$1.44 billion consensus estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The bank declared a dividend of S$0.71 per share for the half-year, down from S$0.92 in the corresponding period last year.
This brings the full-year dividend to S$1.56 per share, representing a payout ratio of about 50 per cent.
Net interest income fell 4 per cent to S$2.35 billion, as margin headwinds outweighed loan growth.
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Net interest margin narrowed by 14 basis points to 1.86 per cent, from 2 per cent previously.
Net fee income increased 10 per cent to S$625 million. Other non-interest income slipped 28 per cent year on year to S$319 million.
The non-performing loans ratio remained unchanged at 1.5 per cent.
Total allowances fell 50 per cent to S$113 million on lower specific allowances.
Wee Ee Cheong, UOB deputy chairman and chief executive officer, said: “The group delivered a resilient full-year performance, fuelled by strong fee momentum across our diversified business franchise.
“Our balance sheet is strong with robust capital and liquidity and stable asset quality.”
For the full year, net profit fell 23 per cent to S$4.68 billion.
Separately, UOB said it will grant its junior employees a one-off, additional half-month of base salary, “in recognition of their contributions amid a challenging external environment”.
The supplementary payout, to be disbursed in the second quarter, will benefit about 6,000 employees across the group and amount to around S$4 million in total.
UOB was the second of Singapore’s three local banks to report full-year results, after DBS released its numbers on Feb 9. OCBC is due to report on Wednesday.
Shares of UOB closed 0.5 per cent, or S$0.20, higher at S$38.80 on Monday, ahead of the earnings announcement.
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