• Positive business performance with net income of CHF 78.6 million
• Steady 5% revenue increase driven by good momentum in auto financing and continued growth in credit cards
• 17.1% return on equity with a strong Tier 1 capital ratio of 18.8%
• Refinancing of cashgate acquisition on track; about 70% of committed bridge facility refinanced since 1 July 2019
• Launch of product for financing small companies planned for Q4 2019
• Target dividend for 2019 at least on the level of the previous year; EPS guidance 2019 CHF 5.20–5.50
Zurich – Net income of Cembra Money Bank in the first half of 2019 increased by 1% to CHF 78.6 million or CHF 2.79 per share. The good momentum in auto financing and the continued growth in credit cards contributed to a 5% growth in net revenues. This translated into a 17.1% return on equity coupled with a strong Tier 1 capital ratio of 18.8%.
Robert Oudmayer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Cembra attracted more than 40,000 new customers in the last six months. This lead to a strong half-year result with profitable growth in all business lines. Now we look forward to launching our online financing product for small companies as well as to our expansion and digitisation together with cashgate“.
Profitable growth across all products
The Group's net financing receivables rose by 4% to a record CHF 5,023 million, driven by organic growth across all products and a timing effect at the end of the reporting period (net financial receivables grew 2.1% by end of May 2019). In the personal loan business, receivables increased by 1% to CHF 1,913 million. Interest income in personal loans was stable at CHF 79.1 million, despite of the lower yield of the personal loan business which amounted to 8.2%.
Net financing receivables in auto leases and loans grew by 4% to CHF 2,062 million in the reporting period. Interest income was 1% higher at CHF 49.5 million with a yield of 4.9% for the auto financing business.
The performance of the credit card business was driven by a higher number of cards issued (up 11% year-on-year to 946,000) and a continued increase in volume (up 9% year-on-year). Net financing receivables recorded a 10% growth reaching CHF 1,036 million. Interest income in the cards business grew by 11% to CHF 38.3 million with a 7.7% yield.
Steady revenue increase
Net revenues rose by 5% to CHF 222.6 million. Net interest income grew by 2%, largely driven by higher credit card volumes. Interest expense was 6% higher at CHF 10.7 million, in line with the year-on-year receivables growth.
Commissions and fee income increased by 11% to CHF 67.6 million, mainly due to strong credit card fee income. 30% of net revenues were generated from commissions and fees compared to 29% in H1 2018.
Total operating expenses increased by 14% to CHF 103.6 million. Personnel expenses of CHF 56.9 million rose by 8% driven by 71 additional FTE (+10%) since June 2018. General and administrative expenses of CHF 46.7 million were 24% higher, mainly due to continued investments in technology and growth initiatives as well as pre-transaction costs relating to the acquisition of cashgate. These effects translated into a cost/income ratio of 46.5% (H1 2018: 42.6%).
Solid loss performance
Provision for losses of CHF 19.2 million was 20% lower, affected by the continued favourable macro environment and a one-off effect due to better synchronisation of write-off and collection procedures. This translated in a loss rate of 0.8% (FY 2018: 1.1%).
Balanced funding of cashgate acquisition
In the first six months of 2019, the Group further grew its funding portfolio to CHF 4,499 million with a stable funding mix. The average duration remained at 2.7 years and the period-end funding cost was 48 basis points (31. December 2018: 49 basis points).
Since the announcement of the acquisition of cashgate on 1 July 2019, Cembra successfully placed a balanced mix of deposits, senior debt, hybrid and equity instruments amounting to more than CHF 1.0 billion. With these transactions, about 70% of a committed bridge financing has been replaced.
Cembra Money Bank remains very well capitalised with a strong Tier 1 capital ratio of 18.8% and a leverage ratio of 14.6% as per 30 June 2019.
Online financing for small enterprises
The Group plans to expand its product portfolio with an online financing product for small companies in Switzerland. Cembra has entered a co-operation with Berlin-based Spotcap Global Services GmbH to provide the technology platform for the planned offering. The launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2019.
Outlook for 2019
For the existing business, Cembra confirms the earnings per share (EPS) range previously indicated for 2019. Including the acquisition of cashgate announced on 1 July 2019, Cembra expects a FY 2019 EPS (diluted, US GAAP) of CHF 5.20–5.50. For 2019, Cembra aims to pay a dividend at least at the level of the previous year (CHF 3.75 per share).
The H1 2019 investor presentation is available at www.cembra.ch/investors.
Contacts |
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Media: |
Andreas Werz; +41 44 439 85 12; andreas.werz@cembra.ch |
Investor Relations: |
Marcus Händel; +41 44 439 85 72; investor.relations@cembra.ch
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Key dates |
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21 February 2020 18 March 2020 16 April 2020 |
Full-year results 2019 Annual Report 2019 Annual General Meeting 2020 |
Audio webcast and telephone conference for investors and analysts (in English)
Date and time: 23 July 2019 at 9 a.m. CET
Speakers: |
Robert Oudmayer (CEO), Pascal Perritaz (CFO) and Volker Gloe (CRO) |
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Audio Webcast: |
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Telefophone: |
Europe: +41 (0) 58 310 50 00 |
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UK: +44 (0) 203 059 58 62 |
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US: +1 (1) 631 570 5613 |
Q&A session: Following the presentation participants will have the opportunity to ask questions via the telephone conference.
Please dial in 10–15 minutes before the start of the presentation and ask for “Cembra’s H1 2019 results”.
About Cembra Money Bank |
Cembra Money Bank AG is a leading Swiss provider of consumer finance products and services. Its product range includes personal loans, auto leases and loans, credit cards and insurance sold with those products as well as invoice financing, deposit and savings products. Headquartered in Zurich-Altstetten, the Bank has operations across Switzerland via a network of 16 branches as well as alternative sales channels such as the Internet, credit card partners, independent agents and 4,000 car dealers. Cembra Money Bank AG is an independent Swiss bank and has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2013. It has over 880 employees from 37 nations and 911,000 customers. On 1 July 2019 Cembra announced the acquisition of the consumer finance provider cashgate. |