5th Mar 2025 11:03
(Alliance News) - AIB Group PLC on Wednesday reported a strong rise in annual profit, hiking its dividend by nearly 40% in response and planning a EUR1.2 billion share buyback.
The Dublin-based bank said pretax profit was EUR2.70 billion in 2024, up 13% from EUR2.39 billion in 2023. Profit after tax was EUR2.35 billion, up from EUR2.06 billion.
This was as net interest income increased by 7.5% to EUR4.13 billion from EUR3.84 billion, and total operating income - including fee, commission and trading income - was EUR4.93 billion, up 4.4% from EUR4.72 billion.
Additionally, impairments were reduced. The net credit impairment charge was EUR55 million in 2024, down from EUR172 million in 2023.
AIB made EUR14.5 billion in new loans in 2024, up 17% from EUR12.3 billion in 2023, increasing gross loans outstanding by 6.3% to EUR71.2 billion from EUR67.0 billion.
The bank's CET 1 ratio, which measures its ability to withstand financial stress, edged down to 15.1% at the end of 2024 from 15.8% at the end of 2023. Both were above AIB's medium-term target of greater than 14%.
AIB declared a final cash dividend of 36.984 euro cents per share, up 39% from 26.568 cents for 2023.
It also noted it has regulatory approval for EUR1.2 billion in share buybacks. This is awaiting discussions with the Irish government's Department of Finance, AIB said.
Chief Executive Officer Colin Hunt said there is "a clear path to a return to full private ownership this year", after the Irish state reduced its shareholder to 12.39% last year. He noted that AIB has returned a total of EUR18.5 billion to Irish taxpayers after its bailout during the financial crisis in 2008.
AIB shares were up 1.3% to 559.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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