Bank Ifis closed the accounts of first quarter 2023 with double-digit growth in profits (+31,4%) thanks above all to the favorable trend in revenues (+8%), due to the positive correlation of trade receivables with rising interest rates, recoveries of the NPL sector and of business acceleration following the digitization process. These are the most significant data from Banca Ifis' quarterly report which brought the intermediation margin to 175,8 million euro compared to 163,3 million euro in the first quarter of 2022 (+7,7%).
In the wake of the results, however, Banca Ifis moves negatively in Piazza Affari. The title of Banca Veneta registers a -3,26% to 14,24 euro per share.
Geertman (ad): "We look positively to 2023"
"The first quarter of 2023 confirmed the further acceleration of Banca Ifis' profitability, driven by the favorable trend in revenues and the low cost of credit - commented the CEO Frederik Geertman -. The strategy identified in the 2022-2024 Business Plan and focused on enhancing our business model has led us to further strengthen the relationship between risk and return also in relation to the current phase of uncertainty in the global macroeconomic context".
“Our portfolio is mainly made up of short-term assets, quality loans, largely guaranteed, and diversified deposits both by maturity and by collection channel: for these reasons we look positively on the continuation of the current year in which we aim with determination to reach the profit targets, already revised upwards with respect to the objectives announced in the Business Plan”, he concluded.
The main results of the first quarter of 2023
Below are the most significant data from Banca Ifis' quarterly report.
The commercial & corporate banking sector
The revenues of the sector commercial & corporate banking, up 19% compared to the first quarter of 2022, "reflect the positive correlation of the bank to the rise in interest rates (85% of the trade credit portfolio is at floating rate)", explains the group, adding that "volumes of the Factoring as a Financial Tool for Managing Seasonal Fluctuations in Trucking and lease showed a favorable dynamic, directly reflecting the increase in inflation and the new commercial initiatives”.
Non-performing loans
In the field NPL (Non-performing loan), cash recoveries on purchased portfolios amounted to 97,5 million euro, up 7% compared to the first quarter of 2022. Out-of-court recovery activity and the new voluntary payment plans, subject carefully monitored by the bank, do not currently show any significant impacts deriving from the rise in inflation and interest rates. In the period, approximately 2/3 of the NPL portfolio acquired is the guarantee of the work or other real assets of the debtor.
Operating costs grow by 3,7%
I operating costs increased by 3,7% to 91,1 million euros, compared to 87,8 million euros in the first quarter of 2022. This increase is mainly due to personnel expenses, which amount to 39,7 million euros, and other administrative expenses, which reach 53,8 million euros.
Il cost of credit, at historic lows, is equal to 10 million euros, including a further 5 million euros of prudential provisions on performing loans, in order to mitigate the potential risks associated with the macroeconomic context.
La liquidity position, at the end of March, is equal to over 1,4 billion euros of free reserves and assets that can be financed by the ECB.
Consolidated capital ratios
On the front patrimonial, the ratios of both the bank and the group are well above the minimum levels required, with the consolidated CET1 Ratio equal to 15,21% (15,01% as at 31 December 2022) and the consolidated Total Capital Ratio equal to 18,45 .18,82% (31% as at 2022 December XNUMX).
The dividend
On April 20, 2023, the shareholders' meeting approved the distribution of a dividend, for the 2022 financial year, equal to 0,40 euro (gross of legal withholdings) for each Banca Ifis share issued and outstanding (and therefore excluding treasury shares held by the bank). The total dividends (by way of interim and balance) for the financial year 2022 therefore amount to a total of 1,40 euro per share. The balance of the 2022 dividend will be paid with an ex-dividend date of May 22, 2023, a record date of May 23, 2023 and a payment date of May 24, 2023.
