Astrobank announced its results for January to June 2024 on Wednesday 14 August.
According to the financial institution, its net profit after all taxes in the first half of the year totalled €19.5m, compared to €11.1m in the same period in 2023.
Net interest income for the six months (as at 30 June 2024) increased by 9% to € 39.1 million, compared with € 35.9 million in January-June 2023. The net interest margin increased to 3.2% compared to 2.9% in the first half of 2023, supported by higher interest rates on loans.
Non-interest income for the six months ended 30 June 2024 was € 10.6 million compared to € 10.1 million for the six months ended 30 June 2023. Net commission income for the six months was € 8.1 million compared to € 7.4 million for the six months ended 30 June 2023. Other income from January to June reached € 1.6 million. This amount mainly includes rental income, dividends from fund investments and income from the sale of a property fund.
In turn, the Bank's total expenses for the six months decreased by 11.2 per cent to € 22.7 million, compared to € 25.5 million in the same month of the previous year. Personnel expenses (€ 13.2 million) represented 58.2 per cent of total costs and were 4.5 per cent lower than a year earlier.
Other operating expenses for the six months totalled € 5.7 million, compared to € 7.9 million in January-June 2023. The cost / income ratio for the six months decreased to 45.5 per cent compared to 58.8 per cent in January-June 2009. Astrobank's impairment losses on financial assets totalled € 3 million compared to € 1 million in the first half of last year.
As at 30 June 2024, the bank's customer deposits amounted to € 2.163 billion, a decrease of around 0.4 per cent. Gross loans stood at €899 million, compared with €996 million on 31 December 2023, down 11%. Meanwhile, the financial institution's net loans and receivables from customers totalled €855 million, compared with €933 million at 31 December 2023.
The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) was 475% compared to 366% at 31 December 2023, well above the regulatory minimum of 100%. Excess liquidity in the LCR at 30 June 2024 was € 1,010 million compared to € 909 million at 31 December 2023.
At 30 June 2024, the Group's Net Fixed Funding Ratio (NSFR) was 206% (compared to 189% at 31 December 2023), well above the regulatory minimum of 100%. New lending amounted to approximately € 58 million.
Non-performing loans (NPEs) decreased to € 100 million from € 150 million at 31 December 2023. NPEs represented 11.1% of total loans at 30 June 2024, compared with 14.8% at 31 December 2023 on the same basis. The coverage ratio was 38% (2023: 44%).
Finally, on the capital side, the core capital ratio was 25.5% compared to 22.1% at the end of 2023, and the total capital ratio was 27.2% compared to 23.7% a year earlier.