PETALING JAYA: Despite a revenue-drop of nearly RM500mil, Public Bank Bhd saw a 15% jump in net profit to a record RM1.53bil on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in the first quarter ended March 31. The stronger bottom line was due to higher net interest income in the quarter, improved net income from its Islamic banking business and a higher fee and commission income. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the banking group said its net profit rose to RM1.53bil in the January-March 2021 period compared with RM1.33bil a year earlier. Revenue fell by 8.8% y-o-y to RM5.03bil from RM5.52bil in the previous corresponding quarter.