German lender Aareal posted an operating profit of €470 mln in 2015, which marks the upper end of its forecast range and represents an 8% increase on the €436 mln profit reported a year earlier, according to preliminary, unaudited figures released on Thursday.
German lender Aareal posted an operating profit of €470 mln in 2015, which marks the upper end of its forecast range and represents an 8% increase on the €436 mln profit reported a year earlier, according to preliminary, unaudited figures released on Thursday.
In its structured property financing segment, Aareal Bank Group originated new business of €9.6 bn, a decrease compared to 2014 (€10.7 bn) but clearly exceeding the forecast range of between €6-7 bn. It is targeting between €7-8 bn of new business in 2016.
'We seized the opportunities the markets presented to us in 2015, both in terms of value-adding, non-organic growth and attractive new business,' said Hermann J. Merkens, chairman of the management board.
Consolidated operating profit for the full year includes €150 mln in negative goodwill from the acquisition of Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank (WestImmo), which was completed on 31 May 2015. In the previous year, a one-off item was recognised in about the same amount, stemming from the acquisition of Corealcredit Bank.
Aareal Bank said it benefited from a strong increase in net interest income, on the back of unexpectedly high non-recurring income from early loan repayments. These factors more than offset the largely acquisition-related rise in administrative expenses.
Consolidated net income increased by about 12% to €374 mln in 2015, from €335 mln a year earlier.
To reflect the record result, the company is proposing a 38% increase in the dividend per share, from €1.20 to €1.65. This equals a distribution ratio, adjusted for negative goodwill from the acquisition of WestImmo, of 52%.
