KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): CIMB Research has maintained its Outperform rating on Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) at RM8.50 with a target price of RM11.10 and said the economic slowdown did not stop Maybank from notching up strong net profit and loan growth in 1Q12.
In a note Friday, the research house said the 1Q results met expectations, at 25% of its full-year forecast, but were slightly ahead of consensus, at 27%.
“In addition to showing the best loan growth, Maybank’s margin erosion was not as bad as most other banks.
“We nudge our EPS forecasts up for higher loan growth forecasts. This does not affect our DDM-based target price (COE of 11.3%; long-term growth of 5%). Our Outperform rating is premised on its attractive yields and swift topline growth,” it said.