Wolfgang F. Driese, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors
Frankfurt/Main, 13 May 2015 – DVB Bank SE (ISIN DE0008045501), the international transport finance specialist, more than doubled consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2015, from EUR33.9 million to EUR74.9 million.
At EUR140.6 million, total income (comprising net interest income after allowance for credit losses, net fee and commission income, results from investments in companies accounted for using the equity method, net other operating income/expenses, and the net result from financial instruments in accordance with IAS 39), was up 68.0% year-on-year (3m 2014: EUR83.7 million).
Wolfgang F. Driese, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of DVB Bank SE, commented on the Bank’s consolidated results:
“DVB started into 2015 with excellent results. Essentially, three factors contributed to the strong increase:
Besides higher net interest income – driven by higher new business volumes – and a similarly positive development of net fee and commission income, the Investment Management division generated a significant non-recurring income from investment securities due to the partial sale of a shareholding in Wizz Air Holdings Plc, an Eastern European-based airline.
For the fiscal year 2015 we remain cautiously optimistic, and anticipate solid results that are expected to exceed the previous year’s figures. Given the difficult situation in some segments of the shipping market, we expect risk costs in line with the levels seen during recent years.”
Net interest income rose by 13.9%, from EUR56.9 million to EUR64.8 million. DVB’s new business in Shipping Finance, Aviation Finance, Offshore Finance and Land Transport Finance comprised 51 transactions with an aggregate volume of EUR1.7 billion (3m 2014: 40 transactions with an aggregate volume of EUR1.1 billion). Net allowance for credit losses amounted to EUR13.4 million (3m 2014: EUR-2.2 million). Specifically, new allowance recognised for credit losses totalled EUR26.1 million, of which EUR19.6 million was accounted for by Shipping Finance, due to the persistently difficult environment in some segments of the shipping market. Conversely, allowance for credit losses of EUR15.5 million was reversed (Shipping Finance: EUR10.8 million). Net interest income after allowance for credit losses of EUR51.4 million was lower than the previous year’s figure (3m 2014: EUR59.1 million).
Net fee and commission income, which primarily includes fees and commissions from new Transport Finance business, and asset management and advisory fees, amounted to EUR26.2 million – a further 13.4% improvement over the very good figure posted the year before (3m 2014: EUR23.1 million).
General administrative expenses were up 7.7%, to EUR46.0 million (3m 2014: EUR42.7 million). Staff expenses rose by 1.2%, to EUR25.8 million (3m 2014: EUR25.5 million), whilst non-staff expenses (including depreciation, amortisation, impairment and write-ups) amounted to EUR20.2 million (3m 2014: EUR17.2 million).
Net result from financial instruments in accordance with IAS 39 (comprising the trading result, the hedge result, the result from the application of the fair value option, the result from derivatives entered into without intention to trade, and the result from investment securities) – which is generally volatile – swung to EUR60.8 million (3m 2014: EUR1.2 million). The net figure included a significant non-recurring income from the sale of financial assets, generated within DVB’s ordinary activities, including the partial sale of a shareholding in Wizz Air Holdings Plc. Accordingly, the result from investment securities rose by EUR44.1 million, to EUR46.7 million (3m 2014: EUR2.6 million).
Consolidated net income before taxes amounted to EUR84.3 million (3m 2014: EUR40.1 million). The expected bank levy for the fiscal year 2015, in the amount of EUR10.3 million, already needed to be deducted from this figure at the beginning of this year. During 2014, the Bank paid an aggregate bank levy of EUR3.6 million. Consolidated net income after taxes rose to EUR74.9 million (3m 2014: EUR33.9 million).
DVB’s total assets increased to EUR27.1 billion as at 31 March 2015, up 10.6% from the 2014 year-end (31 December 2014: EUR24.5 billion) mainly due to currency effects. DVB’s nominal volume of customer lending (the aggregate of loans and advances to customers, guarantees and indemnities, irrevocable loan commitments, and derivatives) also rose significantly, by 12.0%, to EUR26.1 billion. In US dollar terms, it was down slightly, by 0.4%, to US$28.2 billion.
Driven by a strong consolidated net income, the return on equity (before taxes) stood at 25.2% – up by 12.7 percentage points (3m 2014: 12.5%). Whereas, the cost/income ratio declined by 16.9 percentage points, to 36.6% (3m 2014: 53.5%). The risk-adjustedEconomic Value Added – which now also includes operating net income from investment securities – amounted to EUR45.4 million (3m 2014: EUR15.8 million).
Since the year 2014, DVB has disclosed capital ratios determined in accordance with Basel III framework (Advanced Approach) and after appropriation of profits. On this basis, the common equity tier 1 ratio as at 31 March 2015 was 15.9% (31 December 2014: 18.7%), whilst the total capital ratio amounted to 22.5% (31 December 2014: 21.6%).
You can find a video commentary on the three-month results by Wolfgang F. Driese, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of DVB Bank SE, on our homepage www.dvbbank.com.
DVB Bank SE, headquartered in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, is the leading specialist in the international transport finance business. The Bank offers integrated financing solutions and advisory services in respect of Shipping Finance, Aviation Finance, Offshore Finance and Land Transport Finance. DVB is present at all key international financial centres and transport hubs: at its Frankfurt/Main head office, as well as various European locations (Amsterdam, Athens, Hamburg, London, Oslo and Zurich), plus offices in the Americas (New York City and Curaçao) and in Asia (Singapore and Tokyo). DVB Bank SE is listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE0008045501). Further information is available on www.dvbbank.com.
