Credito Emiliano (CE) H2 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY23 net profit reached a record €562.1m, up 72.4% YoY, after €57.1m of contributions to funds supporting distressed banks.

• Customer loans rose 3.6% to €35.7bn; customer funding reached €96.5bn, up 8.7%, and 170,000 new customers were acquired, up 33%.

Financial highlights

• Operating income rose 30.1% to €1,923.2m; net interest income increased 64.8% to €1,091.3m and non-interest margin rose 1.9% to €831.9m.

• Net operating profit increased 65.9% to €972.2m; gross operating profit rose 57.5% to €1,077.1m.

• Operating costs rose 6.5% to €846.1m, including more than €14m from the renewed collective agreement.

• Profit before tax was €825.1m, up 73.6%; taxes were €263.0m, up 76.4%.

• Extraordinary charges were €65.3m, including €57.1m of gross contributions to funds supporting distressed banks.

Outlook and guidance

• Volume growth remains a priority, supported by customer and funding acquisition, specialised networks, diversified offerings and cross-business synergies.

• Wealth management is expected to support commission growth, while possible H2 interest-rate revisions could pressure the financial margin.

• Service development will focus on omnichannel access, digitalisation and AI; lending remains subject to careful creditworthiness assessment.

• More than 50 strategic initiatives span digital transformation, data and AI, and ESG; OPEX and CAPEX equal ~7% of revenues.

• 2024 ESG targets include >€600m in green loans disbursed and ESG issues equal to 60% of outstanding bonds.