Air Bank reports a CZK 76.8 million profit for 1H 2014, reversing last year’s planned loss
08/07/2014
Unaudited results of Air Bank a.s., on a stand-alone basis as at 30 June 2014 under IFRS:
Air Bank is a young bank demonstrating that it can generate profit based on its own branch network, without charging absurd fees. Following a successful first quarter, the bank has reported a CZK 76.8 million profit for the first half of 2014. In the same period last year, the bank had reported a planned CZK 15 million loss. Air Bank now expects to be in the black for the full year 2014, one year earlier than it had originally planned.
“Although we were building Air Bank as a brand new bank from scratch, we had an ambitious plan to be in the black as early as 2015. However, from the very beginning we have performed better than planned in both business and financial terms, meaning we will generate a profit one year earlier than our target,” says Pavel Pfauser, Air Bank’s CFO.
Air Bank continued to grow rapidly in the first half of this year. As at the end of June 2014, the number of clients had grown 76% year-on-year to almost 266,000. The number of new current accounts more than doubled and the number of new savings accounts rose by one half. The volume of client deposits rose 14% to CZK 50.1 billion. Loans increased at a faster rate, with total volumes rising 52% to CZK 25.2 billion.
“The single, fastest-growing product was consumer loans, which we only launched at the end of 2012. After just 18 months, at the end of June 2014, almost 40,000 customers already had a consumer loan from us. The total volume of outstanding consumer loans rose 245% year-on-year to CZK 3.8 billion at the end of the first half of this year,” adds Pavel Pfauser.
Air Bank’s total assets increased 18% year-on-year to CZK 55.9 billion, as at the end of June 2014. According to the Czech National Bank criteria, Air Bank has become one of the Czech Republic’s medium-sized banks. The bank’s equity grew 55% to CZK 4.4 billion. Air Bank’s capital adequacy ratio rose to 13.7%. The bank’s operating income rose 58% year-on-year to CZK 593 million, and its operating costs increased 26% to CZK 487 million.
Key ratios:
| Key ratios (in CZK ‘000) | 30 June 2014 | 30 June 2013 | YoY change | |
| Net interest income | 741,033 | 226,720 | 227% | |
| Operating income | 592,956 | 375,422 | 58% | |
| Operating costs | (486,561) | (386,775) | 26% | |
| Net profit | 76 760 | -15 082 | N/A | |
| Total assets | 55,901,362 | 47,201,653 | 18% | |
| Equity | 4,368,418 | 2,826,894 | 55% | |
| Capital adequacy ratio | 13.7% | 9.2% | 49% | |
| Additional interesting figures | 30 June 2014 | 30 June 2013 | YoY change | |
| Number of clients | 265,873 | 150,948 | 76% | |
| Number of current accounts | 211,233 | 97,055 | 118% | |
| Number of savings accounts | 188,585 | 123,970 | 52% | |
| Volume of deposits | CZK 50.1bn | CZK 44.0bn | 14% | |
| Volume of loans | CZK 25.2bn | CZK 16.6bn | 52% | |
| - of which, consumer loans | CZK 3.8bn | CZK 1.1bn | 245% | |
| Number of employees | 522 | 472 | 11% | |
| Number of branches | 24 | 20 | +4 | |
| Number of ATMs | 50 | 42 | +8 | |