AS LHV Group's May financial results reflected positive performance, with the results of all subsidiaries in line with the financial plan. LHV Group earned a consolidated net profit of EUR 9.1 million in May, with return on equity attributable to shareholders of 14.1%. Among the subsidiaries, AS LHV Pank earned EUR 9.8 million, LHV Bank Ltd EUR 0.3 million, AS LHV Varahaldus EUR 0.2 million and AS LHV Kindlustus EUR 0.4 million in net profit.
As of the end of May, LHV Group's consolidated loan portfolio amounted to EUR 5.67 billion, growing by EUR 69 million during the month. In year-on-year terms, the loan portfolio grew by 15%. Deposits amounted to EUR 7.61 billion, decreasing by EUR 274 million during the month, mainly reflecting a decline in financial intermediaries' deposits. In year-on-year terms, deposits grew by 4%. Assets under management amounted to EUR 1.79 billion, growing by EUR 15 million during the month and by 16% year-on-year. The number of payments related to financial intermediaries reached 8.6 million in May. The loan portfolio is EUR 11 million behind the financial plan as of the end of May. Deposits are EUR 105 million behind the financial plan, while assets under management exceed the financial plan by EUR 38 million.
The cumulative net profit of LHV Group reached EUR 37.5 million by the end of May, exceeding the financial plan by EUR 0.6 million. In year-on-year terms, net profit was 25% lower, mainly reflecting lower income and a higher cost base. Cumulative net income reached EUR 124.3 million, EUR 1.5 million below the financial plan and EUR 4.7 million or 4% lower in year-on-year terms. Operating expenses reached EUR 73.7 million over the first five months, EUR 1.8 million above the financial plan. In year-on-year terms, expenses have grown by EUR 9.3 million or 14%, mainly reflecting higher personnel costs and IT investments. Loan impairments amounted to EUR 2.6 million over the first five months, EUR 3.5 million below the financial plan, reflecting the strong quality of the loan portfolio. LHV Group is well capitalised and all capital targets are met with sufficient buffers.
In May, LHV Group announced changes to the organisational structure of LHV Pank, moving towards an international bank with product-based management, with retail banking being replaced by four product areas. In connection with this, Annika Goroško, Head of Retail Banking, and Jüri Heero, Head of IT, were recalled from the Management Board of LHV Pank as of 1 June, with the latter also stepping down from the Management Board of LHV Group. The changes do not entail any changes to the current financial plan. In addition, Erste Group began publishing equity research on the LHV share with a target price of EUR 4.40, which broadens analyst coverage and supports LHV's visibility in the international investor community.
LHV Pank
LHV Pank's net profit in May reached EUR 9.8 million, supported by growth in fee and commission income, an improvement in net interest income and impairment releases in the corporate loan portfolio. On the cost side, May was affected by personnel changes and one-off costs. The number of LHV Pank's customers grew by 2,667 in May, reaching nearly 506,000, while the number of customers making everyday payments grew by 2,500 to 235,000.
The loan portfolio grew by EUR 32 million in May, reaching EUR 4.75 billion. Retail loans grew by EUR 33 million, driven mainly by continued growth in home loans, while the corporate loan portfolio remained broadly at the level of the previous month. The quality of the loan portfolio remains strong, and a net impairment release of EUR 0.2 million was recognised in May.
LHV Pank's deposits amounted to EUR 6.27 billion as of the end of May, decreasing by EUR 282 million during the month. The decrease mainly reflected a decline in financial intermediaries' demand deposits, while the focus remains on increasing the share of retail customer deposits.
In May, LHV Pank migrated all of its core systems from on-premises servers to cloud technology. The migration raises the bank's development speed, flexibility and scalability to the level of leading European financial technology companies and enables new services to be launched considerably faster than before.
The cumulative net profit of LHV Pank reached EUR 37.4 million by the end of May, EUR 0.7 million below the financial plan. Excluding the effect of intra-group interest rate swaps, net profit exceeds the financial plan by EUR 1.5 million. Cumulative net income reached EUR 93.6 million, EUR 3.5 million below the financial plan. As of the end of May, the loan portfolio is broadly in line with the financial plan, while deposits are EUR 217 million below the financial plan.
LHV Bank
LHV Bank, which operates in the United Kingdom, earned a net profit of EUR 0.3 million in May. Net interest income improved month-on-month, supported by stronger SME lending margins, while the lower net profit was ultimately affected by an impairment adjustment relating to prior months. As of the end of May, the number of retail customers stood at 10,092.
LHV Bank's loan portfolio amounted to EUR 921 million as of the end of May, growing by EUR 37 million during the month. Loan pipeline of offers outstanding amounted to EUR 198 million. Deposits decreased by EUR 39 million in May, reaching EUR 1.40 billion.
The May impairment charge of EUR 0.5 million included a correction of a model error that affected the provisions for March and April, while the underlying quality of the loan portfolio remained stable. Operating expenses remained well controlled.
In May, LHV Bank received two notable recognitions in the United Kingdom. At the British Bank Awards, the bank was named winner in the Best Newcomer category, and for the third consecutive year LHV Bank was included in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list.
The cumulative net profit of LHV Bank reached EUR 2.3 million by the end of May, EUR 0.3 million below the financial plan. As of the end of May, the loan portfolio was EUR 12 million below the financial plan, while deposits exceeded the plan by EUR 121 million, mainly reflecting growth in direct retail deposits.
LHV Varahaldus
LHV Varahaldus earned a net profit of EUR 0.2 million in May, supported by growth in assets under management and lower operating expenses.
The larger funds of LHV Varahaldus, Julge and Ettevõtlik, returned 0.8% and 0.5% respectively in May. The Tasakaalukas and Rahulik funds returned 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. LHV Pension Fund Index rose by 6.9% in May. Assets under management amounted to EUR 1.79 billion as of the end of May, growing by EUR 15 million during the month. The number of active II pillar customers making regular monthly contributions reached nearly 104,200 as of the end of May.
The cumulative net loss of LHV Varahaldus reached EUR 0.2 million by the end of May, reflecting the income tax of EUR 1.1 million on the dividend distribution made in March. Despite this, the result exceeds the financial plan by EUR 0.2 million. Assets under management exceed the financial plan by EUR 38 million.
LHV Kindlustus
LHV Kindlustus' business activity has returned to its normal level and posted a net profit of EUR 0.4 million in May.
Gross written premiums reached EUR 3.5 million in May. As of the end of May, the number of active insurance contracts stood at 321,000 and the number of customers reached 241,000. The gross loss ratio improved to 61.8% in May (April: 64.8%) and the net loss ratio to 63.6% (April: 71.6%).
The cumulative net loss of LHV Kindlustus reached EUR 0.1 million by the end of May, EUR 1.3 million below the financial plan, reflecting a higher-than-expected volume of claims in the first months of the year. Cumulative gross written premiums reached EUR 22.7 million, exceeding the financial plan by EUR 0.5 million.
AS LHV Group's reports are available at: https://investor.lhv.ee/en/reports.
LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group's main subsidiaries are LHV Pank, LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus and LHV Bank Limited. The Group employs nearly 1,200 people. LHV's banking services are used by more than 500,000 customers, LHV-managed II pillar pension funds have over 104,000 active customers and LHV Kindlustus provides insurance protection to 241,000 customers. LHV Bank, a subsidiary of LHV Group, holds a UK banking licence and offers banking services to international financial technology companies, loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and retail banking services.
Investor Relations
Sten Hans Jakobsoo
Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development
E-mail: stenhans.jakobsoo@lhv.ee
Media and Communications
Paul Pihlak
Head of Communications
E-mail: paul.pihlak@lhv.ee
