DBS Sees Annual Profit to Exceed S$10 Billion in Medium Term

Chanyaporn Chanjaroen,  Bloomberg News

 

(Bloomberg) -- DBS Group Holdings Ltd. expects to achieve earnings of more than S$10 billion ($7.4 billion) in the medium term given its strong balance sheet and digital transformation.

Return-on-equity is expected to be in a range of 15% to 17%, Southeast Asia&rsquo s biggest lender said in an investor day presentation on Monday, referring to a time frame of three to five years. Last year&rsquo s profit reached S$8.2 billion, 20% higher than 2021. 

In its presentation for the event, its first since 2017, DBS said it sees &ldquo high potential opportunities&rdquo in its growth markets of India, Indonesia, and Taiwan. The Singapore-based bank is targeting areas like transaction banking, wealth management, lending to small businesses as well as unsecured retail lending. 

In India, the firm targets to be among the top 10 private sector banks alongside IDBI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. Its net profit in the country is projected to grow three times by 2026 to around S$375 million. 

DBS&rsquo s first-quarter net income of S$2.57 billion beat analysts&rsquo estimates, powered by lending income. Return-on-equity surged to 18.6%, from 13.1% a year ago.

 

The stock has lost nearly 8% this year, compared with about a 4% gain on the Bloomberg Asia-Pacific Banks Index.