KBC Group: First-quarter result of 458 million euros
May 12 2022 - 1:00AM
KBC Group: First-quarter result of 458 million euros
Press Release
Outside trading hours - Regulated information*
Brussels, 12 May 2022 (07.00 a.m. CEST)
KBC Group: First-quarter result of 458 million
euros
‘Just when the pandemic-related concerns had
started to ease in some countries thanks to the gradual abolishment
of precautionary measures, Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The
tragedy unfolding in Ukraine has caused immense human suffering and
we express our heartfelt solidarity with all the victims of the
conflict, both those in the region itself and the large number of
refugees in various guest countries in Europe.
The brutal invasion is sending shockwaves
throughout the global economy. Our direct exposure to Ukraine,
Belarus and Russia (a mainly commercial exposure of some 55 million
euros) is quite limited, but we are keeping a very close eye on the
indirect macroeconomic impact, such as the effect of high gas and
oil prices on inflation and economic growth, and on spillover
effects for us, our counterparties and our customers, both
financially and operationally, including a heightened focus on
information security threats. In that respect, we decided to set
aside a dedicated impairment amount to cover geopolitical and
emerging risks (see below).
While the ongoing war in Ukraine still clearly
commands our full attention, we have continued to manage our
day-to-day business and also take further steps towards realising
various strategic goals. At the beginning of February, for
instance, we were able to finalise the sale of substantially all of
KBC Bank Ireland’s non-performing mortgage loan portfolio. As
regards sustainability, we again made further progress, including
realising our goal of systematically rolling out responsible
investing funds in all our core countries when we recently launched
these solutions in Bulgaria. We would also invite you to read about
our sustainability approach, our achievements and our commitments
in our 2021 Sustainability Report, which we published in early
April and is available at www.kbc.com. As far as new initiatives in
the field of digitalisation are concerned, it is worthwhile
mentioning that we took a first step in commercialising our
in-house portfolio of Artificial Intelligence applications, with
the launch via our fintech subsidiary DISCAI of an AI application
designed to combat money laundering. DISCAI will pursue a gradual
go-to-market approach and will work with partners for the
distribution and integration of these applications.
As regards our financial results, the year got
off to a strong start, with a net profit of 458 million euros being
posted in the quarter under review. This is an excellent
performance given that the bulk of bank taxes for the full year are
recorded – as always – upfront in the first quarter of the year.
All the main income items performed well. Our costs were kept under
control and included a one-off extraordinary bonus for our staff to
reward them for the very good 2021 results despite the difficult
conditions caused by corona. We were also able to record a small
net reversal of loan loss impairment in the quarter under review,
as the amount we set aside to cover geopolitical and emerging risks
was more than offset by the combination of a reversal of a large
portion of the impairment recorded previously for the coronavirus
crisis and by net reversals for other individual files. As a
result, our combined reserves for the coronavirus crisis and for
geopolitical and emerging risks now amount to 273 million euros.
Our solvency position remained very solid with a common equity
ratio of 15.3% on a fully loaded basis and our liquidity position
was excellent, as illustrated by an NSFR of 149% and an LCR of
162%. As announced earlier, we will today pay out a gross final
dividend of 7.6 euros per share, bringing the total gross dividend
to 10.6 euros per share.
The last few years have also demonstrated that,
even in continuously challenging circumstances, we can build on our
solid foundations and policy decisions of the past and, perhaps
even more importantly, build on the trust that our customers,
employees, shareholders and other stakeholders place in us. That is
something I would sincerely like to thank you for.’
Johan Thijs
Chief Executive Officer
Full press release attached
- 1q2022-pb-en
- 1q2022-quarterly-report-en
KBC Groep NV (EU:KBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
KBC Groep NV (EU:KBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024