Last Thursday, Multitude announced its FY25 preliminary results. The company overachieved its FY25 net profit guidance of € 24-26m, printing € 26.6m, in line with our estimate of € 26.5m (eNuW), although the underlying picture was mixed. Q4'25 in detail:
Interest income decreased 18% yoy to € 55.3m (vs eNuW -6.6%/€ 62.8m ). Per segment:
Consumer Banking decreased 26.4% yoy to € 41.2m (vs eNuW -18%/€ 45.9m )
CapitalBox decreased 4.5% yoy to € 8.5m (vs eNuW +1%/€ 9m)
Wholesale Banking increased 14.1% yoy to € 5.6m (vs eNuW +60%/€ 7.9m)
The Consumer Banking divestments executed during FY25 are behind the big drops, while the lagged effect of lower interest rates is still weighing on interest income. The SME market also remains soft. In Wholesale Banking, growth was clearly below expectations (+14.1% yoy vs eNuW +60%), however qoq topline can be volatile, given that individual client contributions can have large impacts, thus not a cause for concern. In aggregate, net interest income reduced 21.6% yoy to € 44.3m (vs eNuW -9.4%/€ 51.2m), with interest expense -5% qoq.
Margins were very resilient. The positive surprise was the net fee and commission income with a strong beat, showing growth of 157% yoy to € 5.2m (beat vs eNuW +95.7%/€ 4m). OPEX were € 3.5m lower than eNuW expections, with impairment losses -11.7% yoy to € 1.9m, suggesting an improving loan book quality and positive effects from divestments. Net profit for the quarter was € 6.4m (beat vs € eNuW 6.3m).
Multitude delivers on bottom-line. FY25 adj. net profit was € 25.9m (excl. FV & FX losses and other income), still in the upper end of guidance. Mind you, Multitude raised its guidance once in FY25, from € 23m to € 24-26m. The divestments in Consumer Banking should be seen in the context of loan book de-risking and a tighter risk stance, rather than simply deteriorating demand. Multitude is increasingly monetising its digital platform and underwriting capabilities via partnerships, on a more asset-light, fee-driven business. With improving impairment trends, solid cost control and a cleaner book, we read FY25 as continued de-risking and repositioning rather than structural weakness, supporting the CEO's message of growing net profit through a combination of organic growth, M&A and partnerships. Noteworthy, Multitude has overachieved its guidance five years in a row.
Multitude places fresh € 70m in perpetual bonds. The day prior, Multitude announced that Multitude Capital Oyj placed € 70m in new subordinated perpetual capital notes (3M Euribor +8.9%, issued at 96% of par) under a € 120m framework. Proceeds will be used to fund the tender offer for the outstanding 2021 hybrid notes (€ 25.8m of € 45m remaining, after € 19.2m exchange) and for general corporate purposes. Compared to the 2021 bonds, the coupon formula is identical (3M Euribor + 8.90%), but the issue price is lower (96% vs 99.5%), reflecting a tighter market for high-yield perpetuals. In parallel, the upsizing from € 45m to € 70m strengthens the equity-like capital base, directly supporting capacity to grow the loan book. The new interest run-rate on perpetuals is estimated at € 7.6m (eNuW). While the issue price was at 96% of par, we view the terms as satisfactory given (i) the higher nominal size (€ 70m vs € 50m for 2021 notes), (ii) the attractive switch terms for existing bondholders (allowing to avoid the July 450bp step-up on the 2021 notes), and (iii) the elevated uncertainty due to the Iran war.
Estimates adjustments. We lower FY26e interest income growth estimate to -3.6% yoy (vs prior eNuW +4.6%), reflecting Consumer Banking divestments through H1'26 and the lagged effect of rates, with recovery expected in H2'26. Conversely, we raise FY26e fee and commission income estimate to € 27.7m (eNuW) on strong momentum after four sequential beats, resulting in FY26e net profit of € 29.9m (vs prior eNuW € 30.5m), near the € 30m guidance. The adjustments leave our € 11 PT unchanged, and we reiterate our BUY rating.
ISIN: CH1398992755
