Heku Financial Posts Record January-July Profit, Targets 80% Dividend Payout

Heku Financial’s profit reached a record for the first seven months of the year, giving investors a stronger earnings outlook while the group works to preserve its dividend policy. The Taiwan-based financial holding company reported after-tax profit of NT$16.077 billion, a 33.2% increase from the same period last year.

First-half after-tax profit stood at NT$13.392 billion, up 36.67% year on year. Earnings per share for the first seven months reached NT$0.99, while return on equity stood at 9.45%.

The group said its nonbank subsidiaries made a much larger contribution to first-half earnings, accounting for 22.57% compared with 3.72% a year earlier. Securities, life insurance and venture capital subsidiaries drove the improvement. Heku expects nonbank operations to contribute about 20% of full-year profit, taking market volatility and second-half performance into account.

Dividend policy remains a central issue for investors. Heku said it distributed NT$1.05 per share for 2025, including NT$0.80 in cash and NT$0.25 in stock dividends. Its payout ratio has stayed near 80% for the past three years, with cash dividends above NT$0.50 per share. Future distributions will depend on earnings, financial strength, business expansion, capital needs and cash remittances from subsidiaries.

Heku also aims to increase the overseas share of profit in 2026. The United States, Hong Kong and Australia currently rank as its three largest overseas markets, with foreign-currency lending growing 26.23%, 20.8% and nearly 20%, respectively. The group plans to open its Singapore branch by the end of the year, while taking a more cautious approach in Cambodia because of economic and external uncertainties.