|
Bank of Ireland Group PLC on Tuesday reported a lower profit for 2022 due to the inclusion of acquired wealth manager J&E Davy, but tripled its shareholder distribution. The Dublin-based lender announced a pretax profit of €1.06 billion, down 14% from €1.22 billion a year prior. Net interest income grew 12% to €2.48 billion from €2.21 billion. ‘The Irish economy performed resiliently during 2022, despite the ongoing cost of living crisis and external headwinds. The latest European Commission data show that Ireland was the European Union’s fastest growing economy for a third successive year,’ the bank said. Operating expenses increased 6.0% to €1.75 billion from €1.65 billion. ‘While reported costs were 6% higher in 2022, this reflects the inclusion of Davy from 1 June and one-off investment relating to the on-boarding of new customers in an operationally safe manner during the year,’ Bank of Ireland explained, referring to its completed €427 million acquisition of Dublin-based stockbroker and wealth manager J&E Davy in June 2022. The company incurred a net impairment loss of €187 million in 2021, compared to a net gain of €194 million on financial instruments in 2021. Bank of Ireland proposed a €350 million shareholder distribution, up sharply from €104 million for 2021. The distribution for 2022 will be €225 million in dividends, equivalent to 21 euro cents per share, and a €125 million buyback. The dividend will have a 25% pay-out ratio with a target to build this to 40% by 2024. The bank’s regulatory common equity tier 1 ratio decreased to 15.9% at December 31 from 17.0% a year prior. The CET1 ratio compares a bank’s capital against its risk assets, with a higher ratio being more financially sound. Looking ahead, Bank of Ireland targets a return on equity of around 15%, compared to 8.3% in 2022. Further, it expects like-for-like costs to be broadly in line with 2022. Bank of Ireland shares were 3.3% higher at €10.80 each on Tuesday in London. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
