Raiffeisen Bank's Profit Increased in 2024

Raiffeisen Bank Plc. closed last year with a consolidated profit after tax of HUF 115.9 billion, 12.3% higher than in 2023, the financial institution reported on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday.

According to the statement, the biggest contributors to the increase in profit were a significant rise in commission income and the release of risk costs. Last year, the financial institution reported a HUF 13.2 billion lower cost of risk than in 2023.

Thanks to higher fee income from payment services and investment fund management, net commission and fee income rose to HUF 94.4 billion, an increase of 15.8% year-on-year.

Net interest income fell by 7.0% to HUF 187.1 billion due to the declining forint market yield environment, with the net interest margin narrowing to 4.2% from 4.7% in 2023.

The group's tax liability increased by HUF 5,961 billion in 2024. The financial institution recorded a liability of HUF 25.1 billion in the special tax of financial institutions line, significantly lower than the HUF 34.9 billion paid in 2023.

The return on equity (ROE) decreased to 24.5% in 2024 from 25.3% in the previous year, while the total capital adequacy ratio increased by 163 basis points to 29.36%.

Operating costs were about 10% higher than the previous year, driven by an increase in wage costs and spending on digital improvements.

The growth rate of the group's revenues significantly outpaced its costs, resulting in a cost/revenue ratio (excluding transaction fees and taxes) of 32% in 2024, up from 30.8% in the previous year.

Loans and advances to customers increased by 6.2% to HUF 1,872 billion in 2024, deposits by 6.6% to HUF 3,183.6 billion, and the loan-to-deposit ratio fell to 60.6% from 61.3% in 2023.

By the end of 2024, the number of retail private and premium banking customers increased by 2%, while the number of branches (73) remained unchanged.

The group's balance sheet total increased by HUF 183 billion to HUF 4,615 billion, and its market share decreased from 6.00% at the end of 2023 to 5.86%.

At the same time as the financial statements were adopted, Raiffeisen decided to pay a dividend of HUF 114.5 billion, consisting of HUF 80.1 billion in profit after tax for the year and HUF 34.3 billion in free profit reserves.