On the basis of the strong financial result in the first quarter and due to the ongoing positive development of key earnings drivers, the Management Board of ProCredit General Partner AG decided today to raise the guidance for the group’s return on equity and cost-income ratio in the current 2023 financial year as follows:
The Management Board now expects a return on equity of 8% to 10% and a cost-income ratio of 62% – 64% for the 2023 financial year. The guidance for return on equity is now based on an assumed cost of risk of up to 45 basis points.
In the report on expected developments included in ProCredit Holding’s consolidated financial statements for the 2022 financial year, the Management Board published a guidance for return on equity of 6.0% to 8.0% and a cost-income ratio at the previous year’s level of 64.0% (with a range of plus/minus 1%). The guidance for return on equity was based on an assumed cost of risk of up to 70 basis points.
The newly raised guidance continues to be subject to adverse assumptions for the remainder of the year, in particular to continue to take into account the ongoing combat activities in Ukraine and the associated uncertainties.
Management Board Chair Hubert Spechtenhauser commented: “The convincing results from the first quarter have shown that we are on a very good track towards achieving our short- and medium-term goals. However, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we continue to plan cautiously for the 2023 financial year. Our new guidance continues to be subject to assumptions of adverse conditions with regard to margins and cost of risk, about which we have no concrete knowledge at the present time. In the second half of the year in particular, we also anticipate a further increase in personnel and administrative expenses. The raised guidance for the 2023 financial year takes into account the very positive earnings increase in the first quarter and at the same time incorporates our prudent approach for the rest of the year. In the medium term, we aim to report a return on equity of around 12% and a cost-income ratio of around 57%, and we see the group on a very good path in that regard.”
The outlook for loan portfolio growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range, a CET1 ratio of over 13% and a leverage ratio of around 9% were confirmed in the course of these adjustments. For the purpose of calculating the capital ratios, one-third of the interim profits for the financial year are to be set aside for a dividend payment in 2024.
Contact:
Investor Relations, ProCredit Holding, Tel.: +49 69 951 437 0, e-mail: pch.ir@procredit-group.com
About ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company’s shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The core shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), KfW, the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV and, since very recently, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As the group’s superordinated company according to the German Banking Act and as the parent financial holding company of the ProCredit financial holding group, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. For additional information, visit: https://www.procredit-holding.com/
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements relating to our future business development and financial performance, as well as statements relating to future actions or developments affecting ProCredit Holding which may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the management of ProCredit Holding’s current expectations and specific assumptions, many of which are beyond the control of ProCredit Holding. They are therefore subject to a multitude of risks, uncertainties and factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should underlying expectations or assumptions prove incorrect, then the actual results, performance and achievements (both negative and positive) of ProCredit Holding may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statement. Beyond the legal requirements, ProCredit Holding does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in the event of deviations from the expected development.