-- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. or OCBC's (SGX:O39) net profit attributable to equity holders rose 5% in the first quarter of the year to SG$1.97 billion from SG$1.88 billion a year earlier, according to a Friday filing with the Singapore Exchange.
Earnings per share rose to SG$1.76 compared with SG$1.67 in the year-ago period.
Analysts at Visible Alpha had projected earnings per share of SG$0.43 for the period.
Net interest income, however, declined 5% year over year to SG$2.22 billion from SG$2.35 billion. Analysts at Visible Alpha had projected net interest income to come in at SG$2.30 billion.
Total income gained 5% to SG$3.83 billion from SG$3.66 billion a year ago.