SINGAPORE: United Overseas Bank Ltd. shares tumbled the most in almost four months after fourth-quarter profit missed analyst expectations and the bank cut its dividend.
The stock was down as much as 4.6% in Singapore on Tuesday as the lender reported a decline in lending margins. Net income earlier fell 7.4% to S$1.41 billion in the three months that ended Dec 31, less than the S$1.45 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Fee growth will be in a “high single-digit” percentage for the year, chief executive officer Wee Ee Cheong said. Earlier he had guided for a range of high single-digit to double-digit gains. He maintained the rest of the year’s outlook, including a full-year net interest margin in a range of 1.75% and 1.80%.