Novo Banco’s profit rose 39.9% in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period in 2022, to 373.2 million euros, the financial institution announced today.
“Novo Banco posted a net profit of EUR 373.2 million (1st quarter: EUR 148.4 million; 2nd quarter: EUR 224.8 million), demonstrating the sustained evolution of the business and the capacity to generate revenue and capital,” the entity said in a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
In the period under review, the first half of the year, net interest income amounted to EUR 524 million, up 95.5% year-on-year.
In the second quarter, “net interest income grew 12.7% compared to the first quarter”, the bank said.
“The positive evolution of commercial activity, in a favorable interest rate environment, was reflected in the 62.3% growth in commercial banking income”, to EUR 669.4 million, Novo Banco said in the document, noting that “this performance more than offset the effect of inflation and investment in improving the bank’s processes, which led to an increase in operating costs of 7.8% (6.3% excluding exceptional items)”.
Provisions for loans and securities “show a slight reduction compared with the figures recorded” in the first half of 2022 (-€4.4 million).
Operating income grew by 21.2% to €692.4 million.
Customer service fees amounted to €145.4 million, compared with €144.4 million in the first six months of 2022 (0.7% increase).
“It is worth highlighting the contribution of the revenue performance of Payment Means Management (+10.5%; + EUR 6.4 million compared to the first half of 2022), reflecting a higher volume of transactions, offsetting the impacts resulting from regulatory changes in loan fees”, says Novo Banco.
Gross customer loans amounted to €25.8 billion at the end of June, an increase of 0.7% compared with last December.
“A originação no semestre foi de 1,8 mil milhões de euros suportada pela evolução positiva da captação de clientes, especialmente no crédito habitação e a empresas”, adianta o banco.
No que diz respeito aos créditos não produtivos (NPL), estes “continuam a apresentar uma tendência favorável, com redução de 8% face a dezembro de 2022 e 2% face a março, reduzindo para 1.269 milhões de euros”, sendo que o “rácio líquido de NPL situou-se em 0,9% (rácio de NPL de 4,4% com rácio de cobertura de 80,0%, superior à média europeia)”, acrescenta o Novo Banco.
Os recursos totais de clientes aumentaram 2,5% face a dezembro, para 35,7 mil milhões de euros, “com os depósitos de clientes a apresentarem um crescimento de 2,5% no segundo trimestre”.
De acordo com o Novo Banco, “este desempenho reflete-se no crescimento da quota de mercado dos depósitos para 9,6% em maio (dezembro de 2022: 9,3%). O rácio de transformação manteve-se em 82,6%”.
Em junho, acrescenta, “o excedente de liquidez no ECB ascendia a 1,3 mil milhões de euros, mesmo após o reembolso de 3,1 mil milhões de euros do TLTRO III”.
“Os outros resultados de exploração totalizaram -5,0 milhões de euros, com a comparação com o período homólogo impactada pelo ganho de 77,1 milhões de euros com a venda de ativos imobiliários, no primeiro semestre de 2022”, aponta a instituição financeira.
Other operating income “includes the annual contribution to the Single Resolution Fund (€15 million) and the National Resolution Fund (€7.1 million), gains from loan recovery and results from real estate”,
In the first half of the year, personnel costs amounted to €120.6 million, €8.7 million more than in the same period of the previous year, general administrative expenses amounted to €84.7 million, €7.3 million more than in the same period of the previous year, and depreciation, at €19.8 million, “is in line” with the first half of 2022.
“The commercial ‘Cost to Income’ continued to show a positive trend, reaching 33.6% (first half of 2022: 50.6%), Excluding items of an exceptional nature, costs would total €212.5 million, representing an increase of 6.3% compared to the first half of 2022, equivalent to 31.7% excluding items of an exceptional nature”, says Novo Banco.
The bank had 4,132 employees at the end of June and the same number of branches as on December 31, 2022 (292 branches), of which more than 257 operating with the new distribution model and more than 231 equipped with VTM (Virtual Teller Machine), reads the statement.
The Novo Banco group “recorded in the first half of 2023 an increase in impairments and provisions in the amount of €56.0 million, almost all of which was for loans and advances to customers and securities, with these two aggregates showing a slight reduction compared to 1H22 (-€4.4 million)”.
The institution’s strategy to support the “national business fabric was guided by rigor and discipline with regard to the granting of credit”, he continues, adding that “this support has been transversal to all sectors and all companies, with a special focus on exporting SMEs and companies that incorporate innovation in their products, services or production systems”.
Loans to businesses accounted for 55%, housing loans for 39% and consumer and other loans for 6%.