Lady Luck smiles as DBS' 2017 dividend soars 55% to 93 cents

Its shares jumped 5.32% and led stock growth.

DBS and its shareholders will be celebrating as for the final dividend of 2017, the bank has proposed a payout of 60 cents per share, bringing full-year dividend to 93 cents, up 55% from 60 cents in the previous year.

OCBC Investment Research said that the bank's shares jumped 5.32%, leading the growth of stocks in the Straits Times Index (STI) for 8 February.

It also proposed a special dividend of 50 cents. RHB Research said that this is a positive since there was no special dividend in 2016.

It was a good 2017 for DBS as its net profit of $4.37b rose 3% from the previous year.

Net interest income (NIM) rose 7% to $779m, whilst non-interest income gained 7% to $483m.

On a QoQ basis, 4Q2017 allowances came off 72% from $815m to S$225m.

The final quarter’s performance was led by an increase in wealth management and higher unit trust and other investment product sales. In addition, investment banking also saw a doubling in fees from higher equity market and fixed income activities.