Singapore DBS third-quarter net profit little changed, bad debt charges swell

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - DBS Group Holdings, Singapore's biggest lender, posted a slight increase in third-quarter net profit, in line with expectations, but bad debt charges rose sharply from its exposure to the troubled oil and gas sector.

Singapore banks are grappling with growing risks to earnings as credit woes deepen for the offshore services sector, which has been hit hard by an almost two-year rout in oil prices that lasted until early this year.

DBS said net profit came in at S$1.071 billion ($768 million) in the third quarter that ended in September, versus a profit of S$1.066 billion a year earlier.

That compares with an average forecast of S$1 billion from five analysts polled by Reuters.

Bad debt charges rose to S$436 million in the third quarter from S$178 million a year ago.

This earnings season, rival Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp reported a better-than-expected 5 percent rise in third-quarter profit while United Overseas Bank posted an 8 percent drop in quarterly income.

($1 = 1.3924 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Richard Pullin)