Bper, profit rises to 724 million in the first half of the year. In October the plan but 'no M&A on the table'

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A first-half profit of 724 million euro (+2.8%), a second quarter slightly below estimates on net income and, above all, work on the new Industrial Plan that will be presented on 10 October in Milan but without M&A on the table. This, in short, is the balance sheet just churned out by Banca Pop Er, which closed the first half of the year with a net profit of EUR 724.2 million, up 2.78% compared to the same period in 2023. In the second quarter alone, however, the bank posted a net profit of EUR 266.9m, below consensus estimates of around EUR 391m. Returning to the first half of the year, 'core' revenues rose to EUR 2.697 billion (+7%), while net interest income stood at EUR 1.682 billion, up 8.9%. Net commissions came to 1.014 billion (+4.0%). Operating expenses amounted to 1.569 billion (up from 1.340 billion), with a stable cost-income ratio at 50.6% and an annualised cost of credit of 41 basis points (down from 48 points in 2023). On the capital front, the Cet1 ratio is 15.3% (from 14.5% at the end of 2023).

Summing up, in the first half of the year Bper's total net operating income amounted to 2.758 billion (+4.1%). Gross impaired loans to customers (gross Npe ratio), on the other hand, amounted to 2.8% (2.4% at the end of 2023), while the net Npe ratio was 1.3% (from 1.2%).

"We are working to define our new industrial plan, which, together with the management team, we will present next 10 October in Milan. It will be a growth-oriented plan that will allow us to continue to create value for all our stakeholders,' explained Bper's CEO, Gianni Franco Papa, commenting on the balance sheet figures that show 'a continuous and constant generation of value' in the first half of the year. In any case, Bper's new industrial plan will be based on 'organic growth, because we see great opportunities' in growth by internal lines 'thanks to the bank's presence in the richest areas of Italy,' Papa reiterated during a conference call with financial analysts. As for possible acquisitions, "for us they are not on the table today".Papa: "Working on new growth-oriented plan".

For the 2024 financial year, Bper also updated its guidance with respect to the results for the end of 2023, presenting "a stable net interest margin", "net commissions with a positive dynamic" and net ordinary profitability that "can be expected to be in line with that of 2023, net of the effect of deferred taxation". At the time of the first quarter 2024 accounts, on the other hand, the institution in confirming the annual guidance had estimated 'a slightly declining net interest income as a result of a potential reduction in the banking spread related to a less restrictive monetary policy'. The timing of an easing of monetary policy by the ECB - perhaps longer than expected - has now led the Modena-based institution to slightly raise its target, which now points to 'a stable net interest income'.