Lion Finance Group (BGEO) Q1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved consolidated 1Q26 profit of GEL 585.0m, up 14.0% year-over-year, with ROAE of 27.4%.

• Celebrated 20 years since public listing and FTSE 100 inclusion, marking significant achievements and future ambitions.

• Operates primarily in Georgia (two-thirds) and Armenia (one-third), with Armenia's share rapidly increasing and strong customer franchise growth in both markets.

• Continued digital leadership with significant growth in digital monthly active users and high customer satisfaction scores in both Georgia and Armenia.

• Declared quarterly dividend of GEL 2.85/share and announced GEL 55.0m share buyback.

Financial highlights

• Profit grew by 14% year-over-year, with operating income up 15% and net interest income rising 18.4%.

• Loan book expanded 23.1% year-over-year (constant currency), with Armenia showing 34.6% growth and Georgia 17.8%.

• Deposit growth was 17.5% overall, with Armenia at nearly 30% and Georgia at 13%.

• Net interest margin stable at 6.2% for GFS and 5.9% for AFS.

• Cost of risk remained low at 0.3% group-wide, with NPL ratio at 2.1%.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 GDP growth forecasts revised upward: 7.0% for Georgia, 6.0% for Armenia, reflecting strong Q1 performance.

• Guidance for ~15% annual loan book growth and ROAE above 20%, with payout ratio in the 30-50% range.

• NIM expected to remain flattish in Georgia, with slight recovery anticipated in Armenia later in the year.

• Cost of risk expected to remain below midterm guidance of 80-100 bps barring economic slowdown.

• Expectation of moderately tight monetary policy in Georgia and neutral stance in Armenia.