01.08.2018
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DGAP-News: comdirect bank AG: Good half-year result for 2018
DGAP-News: comdirect bank AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
comdirect bank AG: Good half-year result for 2018
01.08.2018 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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comdirect: Good half-year result for 2018
* 2018 half-year result at EUR48.0m before taxes
* Over 100k new B2C customers in the first half of the year
* Clear focus on the core business with the agreed sale of subsidiary
ebase
Quickborn, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 1 August 2018. comdirect group concluded
the first half of 2018 with pre-tax profit of EUR48.0m (previous year:
EUR50.9m). The pre-tax return on equity stood at 15.5% (previous year:
17.4%). "We have generated a good result," comments Arno Walter, CEO of
comdirect bank AG. "At the same time, we greatly accelerated our growth in
the core B2C business in the first half of the year with over 100k new
customers. This shows that we are being received well as a smart financial
companion for the mobile generation and as a top address for saving,
investing and trading with securities. This is exactly as it should
continue. With the agreed sale of ebase, we are focusing even more
intensively on the growth and further development of our core business. For
the year as a whole we are working towards a pre-tax profit of around
EUR145m, including investments into growth as well as the expected one-off
gain from the sale of ebase", says Walter. This would be then equivalent to
an ROE before taxes of around 22 percent.
comdirect is Germany's first provider of transfers with Google Assistant
On its way towards becoming a smart financial companion for the mobile
generation, comdirect has brought further smart products and services to the
market over recent months. comdirect has been allowing transfers with Google
Assistant, Google's speech assistant, since July - the first bank in Germany
to do so. In addition, comdirect customers can call up their account and
custody account balances quickly and easily using Google Assistant. Traders
now receive push alerts via Amazon's Alexa when one of their selected
securities exceeds or falls below a certain price limit.
comdirect has also further extended its pioneer role in the area of mobile
payments. For example, comdirect is one of the few banks to have introduced
Google Pay on its launch in Germany at the end of June. Android users can
now pay easily and in just a few seconds with their smartphones. In the
context of the innovation partnership with the German Volleyball
Association, comdirect is also testing a payment function with wearables.
Contactless payment will be possible using a wrist band at the German beach
volleyball championships at Timmendorfer Beach. Visa is a partner and joint
initiator of this campaign. Walter notes, "As a smart financial companion,
we want to offer our customers solutions that make their lives easier and
more simple in dealing with all financial topics. We have now taken a major
step forward here with the expansion of our services in voice banking and
mobile payment."
Sale of ebase expected to be concluded in 2018
On 10 July 2018, comdirect contractually agreed the sale of its subsidiary
ebase (European Bank for Financial Services GmbH) to the FNZ Group. The
reason for the sale is a stronger focus on the fast-growing B2C core
business. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the banking
supervisory authorities and antitrust authorities and fulfilment of the
contractually agreed closing conditions. The sale is expected to be
concluded in the current year. In this event there would be a one-off gain
before taxes of at least EUR85m for comdirect in 2018. Furthermore,
comdirect plans to invest up to EUR30m into growth through new smart
products and services, new technologies as well as into new customer and
asset growth during 2018. The remaining total from the non-recurring income
forms the foundation for further growth in the subsequent years. In
connection with the agreed sale, ebase will be reported in the interim
financial statements for the first half of 2018 as a discontinued activity
pursuant to IFRS 5 (cf. table).
Greatly accelerated customer and custody account growth in the core business
The customer base in the B2C business segment (comdirect bank AG including
onvista bank division) increased by over 100k to 2.39m compared with the end
of 2017. In the previous year's period, the rise stood at 42k net new
customers (excluding inorganic growth as a result of the acquisition of
onvista bank customers in April 2017). With a rise of 89k to 1.29m, the
number of custody accounts also increased significantly. The number of
current accounts grew by 48k to 1.48m. Assets under Control (AuC) went up to
EUR62.6bn, compared with EUR59.0bn at the end of 2017. The portfolio volume
grew 1.6bn to EUR38.7bn, despite the market price losses on the securities
markets. According to Walter, "The figures demonstrate that comdirect - the
top address for saving, investing and trading with securities - is a growth
company. We are particularly pleased that customers invested their money
mostly in custody accounts in the first half of the year. At EUR3.1bn, net
fund inflows to customers' custody accounts are higher than ever. More and
more comdirect customers are taking responsibility for their own asset
accumulation and investing regularly in securities."
Increased growth investment in the core business in the first half-year
Income in the core business in the first six months of the year amounted to
EUR171.6m, 10% above that of the same period in the previous year
(EUR155.4m). Net commission income rose compared with the previous year
(EUR91.6m) by 18% to EUR107.9m. The integration of onvista bank and onvista
media GmbH across the entire 2018 reporting period also contributed to the
increase. At 10.9m, the number of B2C trades in the first half of 2018 was
37% above the previous year (7.9m). The significant increase in trades is
primarily due to the more volatile first quarter.
Despite the persistent zero-interest environment, net interest income after
provisions for possible loan losses rose 17% from EUR48.3m in the previous
year to EUR56.5m. Other income stood at EUR7.2m. The previous year's figure
of EUR15.5m was influenced by realisation gains.
The 17% rise in administrative expenses from EUR111.4m in the previous year
to EUR130.1m was primarily the result of growth. Alongside increased costs
resulting from more business and the integration of onvista across the
entire 2018 reporting period, this also included increased mandatory
contributions to the deposit insurance scheme. In addition, comdirect pushed
forward growth initiatives in its core business around the end of the second
quarter.
The income in the core B2C business in the first half of 2018 came to
EUR41.4m (previous year: EUR44.0m). The discontinued activities (ebase)
generated pre-tax profit of EUR6.5m (previous year: EUR6.9m).
Overview*
EUR k Q1 17 Q2 17 Q3 17 Q4 17 Q1 18 Q2 18
Net interest income 24,671 23,586 24,939 23,077 26,262 30,218
after provisions
Net commission income 44,757 46,885 47,451 55,142 59,247 48,644
Other income 5,894 9,639 6,504 8,019 3,423 3,768
Administrative 51,285 60,154 60,500 67,385 63,032 67,087
expenses
Pre-tax profit from 24,037 19,956 18,394 18,853 25,900 15,543
continued activities
Pre-tax profit from 3,390 3,529 3,147 3,555 3,399 3,109
discontinued
activities
Pre-tax consolidated 27,427 23,485 21,541 22,408 29,299 18,652
profit
Consolidated net 20,372 20,340 15,476 15,356 21,697 13,618
profit
EUR k H1 17 H1 18 H1 18 vs.
H1 17
Net interest income after provisions 48,257 56,480 17.0%
Net commission income 91,642 107,891 17.7%
Other income 15,533 7,191 -53.7 %
Administrative expenses 111,439 130,119 16.8%
Pre-tax profit from continued activities 43,993 41,443 -5.8%
Pre-tax profit from discontinued activities 6,919 6,508 -5.9%
Pre-tax consolidated profit 50,912 47,951 -5.8%
Consolidated net profit 40,712 35,315 -13.3%
*In connection with the agreed sale, the business of ebase is reported as
"discontinued activity". The previous year's figures were adjusted
accordingly.
Contacts for this press release
Annette Siragusano
Tel. +49 (0)41 06 704 1960
Email: [email protected]
Katharina Bremer
Phone: +49 (0)41 06 704 1424
Email: [email protected]
Information for editorial teams
You can find more information about business development in the first half
of 2018 here:
https://www.comdirect.de/cms/ueberuns/de/investorrelations/veroeffentlichungen.html
All our press releases are available at www.comdirect.de/presse
News about digital trends and innovations in all things finance can be found
on the comdirect Board of Managing Directors blog at www.bank-neu-denken.de
Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/comdirect or
https://twitter.com/Arno_Walter.
If you do not wish to receive any information,
please let us know by writing to [email protected]
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01.08.2018 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de
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Language: English
Company: comdirect bank AG
Pascalkehre 15
25451 Quickborn
Germany
Phone: + 49 (0) 4106/704-0
Fax: + 49 (0) 4106/708-2580
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.comdirect.de
ISIN: DE0005428007
WKN: 542800
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service
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709657 01.08.2018
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