SpareBank 1 SR-Bank ASA: Solid start for 2012
SpareBank 1 SR-Bank reported a pre-tax profit of NOK 393 million for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 17 per cent over NOK 336 million for the same periode previous year. Our earnings improvement is attributed primarily to robust operations, positive securities markets and low losses.
Our return on equity after tax increased from 11.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 12.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.
- Our banking operations are robust, our losses are low, our product contribution is increasing, and we are improving our overall earnings from our deposit and lending activities. In spite of the continued unrest in Europe, 2012 should be a good year for us, says Arne Austreid, CEO of SpareBank 1 SR-Bank.
Net interest income, commission income and the profit contribution from SpareBank 1 Boligkreditt AS must be seen in context. In spite of the higher funding costs, earnings from deposit and lending activities increased by around 4 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2011. Overall lending growth for the past 12 months was 10.3 per cent, while the growth in deposits was 7.1 per cent. Losses and write-downs amounted to NOK 34 million, compared with NOK 51 million for the same quarter last year.
Key figures for first quarter of 2012 (2011)
- Profit before/after tax: NOK 393/316 million (NOK 336/265 million)
- Return on equity after tax: 12.9% (11.2%)
- Earnings per share: NOK 1.58 (NOK 1.32)
- Net interest income: NOK 401 million (NOK 424 million)
- Net commission and other income: NOK 302 million (NOK 281 million)
- Net income from financial investments: NOK 202 million (NOK 128 million)
- Operating expenses: NOK 478 million (NOK 446 million)
- Impairment losses on loans: NOK 34 million (NOK 51 million)
- Overall lending growth for past 12 months: 10.3% (12.5%)
- Growth in deposits over past 12 months: 7.1% (17.5%)
- Core capital ratio: 10.5% (10.2%)
- We aim to maintain our solid financial standing and leading position in the strongest growth region in Norway. Therefore we are strengthening our equity by means of a fully underwritten rights issue in the second quarter. This new issue will strengthen our ability to pro-actively meet the financing needs of our customers, says Arne Austreid.
The entire quarterly report may be downloaded from www.sr-bank.no.
Stavanger, 3 May 2012
Contact persons:
Arne Austreid, Chief Executive Officer, tel. +47 900 77 334
Inge Reinertsen, Chief Financial Officer, tel. +47 909 95 033
Vidar Torsøe, Vice President Investor Relations, telephone +47 970 80 656
Frode Sandal, Chief Information Officer, tel. +47 908 90 653