DBS Group Holdings Ltd. reported a 1% increase in its second-quarter net profit for 2025, climbing to $2.82 billion for the three months ending June 30. This surpassed the $2.79 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and was slightly up from $2.8 billion in the year-ago period. The strong performance was attributed to robust wealth management fees and trading income, which helped offset the impact of declining interest rates.
Chief Executive Officer Tan Su Shan stated that despite challenging conditions and tariff uncertainties, the bank's proactive hedging and effective balance sheet management cushioned the impact of sharp declines in interest rates. The bank maintained its 2025 guidance, projecting group net interest income to be slightly above 2024 levels, and commercial book non-interest income growth in the mid- to high single digits. Net profit for 2025 is expected to be below 2024 levels.
For the quarter, DBS declared an interim dividend of 60 cents per share and a capital return dividend of 15 cents per share, totaling 75 cents per share, an increase from 54 cents in the prior year. Shares of DBS responded positively, hitting a new high on August 7 following the announcement. The bank also noted that higher volumes are expected to drive net interest income growth in 2025, even with declining interest rates. In a separate report, DBS's first-quarter 2026 net profit rose to $2.93 billion, beating estimates, largely due to its wealth management arm.
