Komerční banka’s net profit increased by 17.4 percent year-on-year to CZK 5.258 billion in the first half of the year. Operating revenues, on the other hand, fell 1.8 percent to 14.805 billion. The results are similar to last year affected by the covidu-19 pandemic. The bank, which is majority owned by France’s Société Générale, announced its consolidated financial results in a press release today.
The Bank’s Board of Directors wants to convene an extraordinary general meeting in the fourth quarter. It is to decide on the distribution of the interim dividend from the profits of 2019 and 2020, which were withheld due to regulatory restrictions related to the pandemic. “The company’s management expects that KB’s operations will remain profitable in 2021,” the bank said.
Komerční banka’s net interest income fell by 8.2 percent to ten billion in the first half of the year, despite the fact that the volume of loans and deposits increased. The reason is a sharp drop in interest rates in the first half of last year. “Net fees and commissions improved by 6.3 percent to CZK 2.8 billion, thanks to a recovery in economic activity and cross-selling income,” the bank said.
Loans to clients rose by 4.7 percent to 708.1 billion crowns, mainly due to the growth of mortgages, which increased by 8.9 percent. Consumer credit, on the other hand, fell 0.6 percent due to uncertainty and restrictions related to the pandemic. Client deposits increased by 11 percent year on year to CZK 996.9 billion.
“The prevailing uncertainty affected mainly unsecured consumer loans and clients from the business segments reduced or postponed their investment projects, thus demanding less long-term financing,” the bank said. Mortgages, on the other hand, remained strong because they were supported by low interest rates and people still see housing as a safe asset.
At the end of June, the bank had approximately 2,244,000 clients. In year-on-year comparison, it was a decrease of 68,000 clients.
Komerční banka is one of the leading banking institutions in the Czech Republic and in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. KB’s main shareholder is the French Société Générale with a share of 60.35 percent. KB shares are traded on the Prague Stock Exchange.
Société Générale returned to a profit of € 1.44 billion (CZK 36.7 billion) in the second quarter of this year, after losing € 1.26 billion last year. The economy was supported by lower costs of bad loans and a recovery in the domestic division of current banking services. The bank now expects to increase revenues in all divisions this year, including the retail banking services division in France.
Competitive banks are also gaining profits in the Czech Republic. In the first half of the year, Česká spořitelna’s net profit rose by 43.4 percent year on year to 6.6 billion crowns, and Raiffeisenbank by 26 percent to 1.69 billion crowns. In this period, Money Bank’s consolidated net profit increased by 18.3 percent year-on-year to CZK 5.38 billion.
Société Générale returned to profit thanks to lower costs for loss loans
The French bank Société Générale, which owns the Czech Komerční banka, reported a net profit of EUR 1.44 billion (CZK 36.7 billion) in the second quarter, compared with a loss of EUR 1.26 billion in the same period last year. The economy was supported by lower costs of bad loans and a recovery in the domestic division of current banking services. The bank in today’s announcement at the same time it has improved the outlook for the whole year.
The results exceeded the estimates of analysts who expected a profit of 704 million euros in the Refinitiv survey. The bank increased revenues by 18.2 percent to 6.26 billion euros.
In France, where the government ended its third nationwide anti-coronavirus restrictions in mid-May, retail banking revenues rose 8.7 percent. Revenues from the corporate and investment banking division rose by 24.5 percent. Two months ago, the bank began modernizing the division to reduce its dependence on trading, which is prone to market fluctuations. Earnings from stock trading were five times higher than a year ago. Yields on bond and currency trading, on the other hand, fell 33 percent.
The bank now expects to increase revenues in all divisions this year, including the retail banking services division in France. The division’s revenues were originally expected to range from a one percent decrease to a one percent increase. Provisions for loss loans should be lower than the bank originally expected.