KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25  --  Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd emerged as the top gainer on Bursa Malaysia after recording a stronger net profit of RM112.3 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (Q3 2019) on higher net wakalah fee income.

At 10.06, Syarikat Takaful's share rose 28 sen to RM6.48 with 749,200 shares traded.

The takaful operator in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday said its Q3 2019 net profit rose 33.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) from RM84.0 million in the same quarter a year ago, quarterly revenue also rose 16.1 per cent y-o-y RM753.5 million from RM649.0 million previously.

Consequently, cumulative nine months net profit ended Sept 30, 2019 jumped 41.8 per cent y-o-y to RM289.7 million from RM204.4 million in the same period last year, while revenue grew 21.0 per cent y-o-y to RM2.34 billion from RM1.94 billion earlier.

"Despite the cautious business sentiments in 2019, the group expects the takaful industry to outperform the conventional insurers in view of the strong demand for Takaful products," it said.

Meanwhile,  MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd Research (MIDF Research) has maintained its "neutral" call with an unchanged target price of RM6.60 on Syarikat Takaful.

In a note today, the research house said it remained optimistic of the strong fundamental aspects of the company, particularly with the growth from its Family Takaful segment. 

"The bancassurance partnership model and efficient operation through digitalisation continue to be core factors in driving the company’s earnings growth prospects. 

"We are also of the view that with a relatively healthy combined ratio of 68.0 per cent gives the company much bigger headroom to grow its portfolio," it said.

However, it noted that the ongoing de-tariffication of the motor and fire insurance continues to present a less encouraging performance from its general insurance segment. 

"This segment alone contributes approximately 30.0 per cent to its group’s gross earned contribution. Moreover, the earnings growth seems to be gradually tapering down albeit still at a solid double-digit growth rate due to effects from a higher base and normalisation," it added.

--BERNAMA