29th Apr 2009 07:16
Press Release
Banco Santander net attributable profit
falls 5% to EUR 2.096 billion in the first quarter
Profit was driven by growth in revenues (up 10%) almost five times more than costs (up 2%), excluding acquisitions and exchange rate effects.
Continental Europe contributed 50% of Group profit, Latin America 34% and U.K. 16%.
Loans rose by 7% and deposits by 15%, excluding the exchange rate effect and not including the contributions of the 2008 acquisitions. With the acquisitions, growth in loans was 26% and in deposits 47%.
Continental Europe registered attributable profit of EUR 1,289 million, an increase of 6%. Loans grew by 4% and deposits by 19%.
In Latin America, attributable profit stood at $1,158 million or EUR 890 million (down 8%), with growth of 14% in loans and 17% in deposits in local currency.
Attributable profit in the U.K. totalled £372 million or EUR 409 million, up 31%. Loans grew by 51% and deposits by 63% following the integration of Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley.
The non-performing loan ratio was 2.49% and the coverage rate was 80%. NPLs in Spain stood at 2.40%. These rates compare very favourably with the average of the sector in the markets where the bank operates.
The efficiency ratio stands at 43.2%, improving 1.6 point from the year before, despite the integrations of A&L, B&B and Sovereign, with efficiency ratios worse than the Group average.
The capital ratios underline Banco Santander's solvency, with a BIS ratio of 13.5% and core capital of 7.3%.
Acquisitions enhanced Santander's geographical diversification. The U.K. accounts for 31% of both loans and deposits, while Sovereign accounts for 6% and 8%, respectively.
Madrid, April 29th, 2009 - Banco Santander registered net attributable profit of EUR 2,096 million in the first quarter of 2009, a decline of 5% from a year earlier but up 8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
Year-on-year comparisons are affected by the integration of Alliance & Leicester and the deposits and distribution channels of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) in the U.K., which contributed EUR 66 million in the quarter, as well as two months of Sovereign, which registered an attributable loss of EUR 20 million. Moreover, the depreciation of the pound sterling and of the currencies in the main Latin American countries where the Bank operates has an impact of between seven and eight percentage points in profit growth in euros. Excluding these effects, the Group's attributable profit would be practically the same as in the first quarter of 2008.
The quarter's earnings reflect the Group's management priorities, which are focused on growing revenues, properly managing growth and profitability, with flat costs and provisions according to expectations, but with a very active management of recoveries. At the same time, Santander is taking all steps needed to extract value from recent acquisitions, taking advantages of the synergies generated by their integration into the Group.
The income statement highlights the resilience of the underlying business and the management focus for the year
Group results EUR Mill. |
|
|
Change |
||
|
Q1´09 |
Q1´08 |
% |
% w/o f.x. / perimeter |
|
Net interest income |
6,234 |
5,101 |
+22.2 |
+18.8 |
A. Revenues increase in a low growth environment (assets spreads) |
Fees |
2,210 |
2,334 |
-5.3 |
-7.7 |
|
Trading gains, other * |
1,010 |
1,003 |
+0.7 |
+10.4 |
|
Gross income |
9,454 |
8,438 |
+12.0 |
+10.5 |
|
Operating expenses |
-4,080 |
-3,780 |
+7.9 |
+1.8 |
B. Strict expenses control with further efficiency improvement |
Net operating income |
5,374 |
4,658 |
+15.4 |
+17.5 |
|
Loan-loss provisions |
-2,234 |
-1,290 |
+73.2 |
+67.8 |
C. Active management of risks: slowdown in provisions |
Attributable profit |
2,096 |
2,206 |
-5.0 |
-0.5 |
D. Net operating income offsets the larger provisions |
EPS (EUR) |
0.2472 |
0.3086 |
-19.9 |
n.s. |
(*) Including dividends, equity method and other operating results. Trading gains change o/Q1´08: +12.7%
Results
The financial crisis and the economic slowdown have resulted in slower growth in activity and increased non-performing loans, which have required greater provisions. These effects have been offset by managing margins to adapt to the situation, enabling revenues to grow by 10% and costs by below 2%, without the exchange rate effect. Including the new acquisitions, which contribute more to costs than to revenue until their synergies are realized, revenue grew by 12% and costs by 8% from the first quarter of 2008.
Performance in costs and revenues allowed Banco Santander's efficiency ratio to improve 1.6 point from a year earlier to 43.2%, positioning the Bank among the best in the world. The improvement in efficiency was possible despite the integration in the first quarter of A&L, B&B and Sovereign, where the cost/income ratio is clearly worse than the Group's prior average.
In Spain, the Santander branch network's efficiency ratio stood at 38% and Banesto's at 40.6%. Latin America's stood at 38.3%, while U.K. continued its progress, to 42.1%. Abbey's costs came to more than 70% of revenues in 2004, the year Santander acquired the bank, similar to Sovereign's situation, with an efficiency ratio of 74.5%, showing significant potential for enhancement. Improving efficiency enabled net operating income to grow 15% from 2008's first quarter to EUR 5,374 million.
… continuing to improve the track-record of efficiency of the Group and the areas
Group efficiency ratio* |
||
|
In percentage |
|
1999 |
66.1 |
|
2000 |
64.1 |
|
2001 |
61.4 |
|
2002 |
59.7 |
|
2003 |
56.3 |
|
2004 |
54.7 |
|
2005 |
54.1 |
Abbey's entry |
2006 |
49.7 |
|
2007 |
45.4 |
|
2008 |
44.6 |
B. Real's entry |
Q1'09 |
43.2 |
SOV, A&L and GE's entry (constant permiter: 41.5) |
Efficiency ratio* by principal segments |
||
|
Change o/ Q1'08 |
|
Continental Europe |
36.0% |
-2.3 p.p. |
United Kingdom |
42.1% |
-5.1 p.p. |
Latin America |
38.3% |
-4.3 p.p. |
Sovereign |
74.5% |
(*) Efficiency ratio with amortisations.
Provisions increased by 73%, linked to the deterioration in credit quality. However, growth in provisions is slowing. Insolvency provisions grew by 25% in the second quarter of 2008 and the growth rate slowed down in the following quarters. In the first quarter of 2009, provisions increased 2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008 excluding acquisitions. The Group has reserves for loan losses of EUR 15,166 million, of which EUR 6,261 million are generic provisions that continue to grow.
The Group's NPL rate stood at 2.49%, up 1.25 point from the year before. Coverage was 80%, compared to 134% in March 2008. Santander's NPL rate is well below the average of all markets in which it operates. In Spain, Santander's NPL rate amounted to 2.35% and Banesto's to 1.96%. NPLs in the U.K. came to 1.25% (including A&L y B&B) and 3.27% in Latin America.
Balance sheet strength: credit quality
In a sharp slowdown scenario, Santander maintains good levels of credit quality in all areas …
NPLs and coverage ratios. Grupo SAN |
|
NPL (%) |
|
Mar 08 |
1.24 |
Jun 08 |
1.43 |
Sep 08 |
1.71 |
Dec 08 |
2.04 |
Mar 09 |
2.49 |
Non-performing loans (%). Grupo SAN |
|
Mar.´09 |
|
Spain |
2.40 |
UK |
1.25 |
Latam |
3.27 |
Coverage ratios (%). Grupo SAN |
|
Mar 08 |
134 |
Jun 08 |
120 |
Sep 08 |
105 |
Dec 08 |
91 |
Mar 09 |
80 |
Coverage ratios (%). Grupo SAN |
|
Mar.´09 |
|
Spain |
81 |
UK |
56 |
Latam |
107 |
… furthermore, mortgage guarantees placed our coverage ratio at 115%
The increase in the NPL rate and provisions bring net attributable profit to EUR 2,096 million, falling 5% from the year earlier period, when it amounted to EUR 2,206 million. Excluding the contribution of acquisitions and the impact of the depreciation of certain currencies, results would be practically the same as in the year before, with a slight 0.5% fall. In any event, first quarter profit is 8% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2008.
By geographical areas, Continental Europe recorded attributable profit of EUR 1,289 million (up 6%), with Santander's branch network, which registered EUR 546 million (up 7%), as the main engine of growth. U.K. profit grew 58% in sterling pounds, to £372 million (EUR 409 million, up 31%) backed by a 67% increase in revenues and costs growing at 49% in pounds. These increases would stand at 27% and 2% excluding acquisitions. Banco Santander's profit in Europe amounted to EUR 1,698 million, 66% of total Group profit.
In Latin America, attributable profit stood at $1,158 million in dollars, its operating currency. In euros, attributable profit was EUR 890 million, down 8%. The greatest contribution came from Brazil, which generated a profit of EUR 436 million, down 13%, with a slight increase of 1% excluding the exchange rate effect. Mexico contributed EUR 111 million, down by 41% in euros and 32% without the exchange rate effect. Chile contributed EUR 117 million, down 12% in euros and about unchanged in local currency.
These results highlight the advantages of geographical and business diversification, the recurrence of revenues and profit and their contribution to the strength of the balance sheet, including reserves. This was accomplished in a very difficult environment in international banking, owing to economic contraction, market volatility and the scarcity and high cost of liquidity.
Business
Growth in business was focused more on deposits than loans, where demand slackened as a result of the global crisis. Deposits grew by 47% and loans by 26%, driven by the integration of Banco Real, A&L and B&B, without taking exchange rate fluctuations into account. Without these acquisitions, growth remained strong, with deposits up by 15% and loans by 7%. The greater growth in deposits allows for greater internal funding of loans, of particular value in the current environment of scarce liquidity.
Banco Santander closed March, 2009 with managed funds of EUR 1.232 trillion, an increase of 15%. Of this amount, EUR 1.115 trillion are on the balance sheet, an increase of 21%.
Gross customer loans
EUR billion and % variation Mar 09 / Mar 08
+19.3%*
Mar 08 |
587 |
Jun 08 |
610 |
Sep 08 |
616 |
Dec 08 |
639 |
Mar 09 |
700 |
(*) W/o exchange rate impact: +24.9% |
Gross customer loans. March 2009
% o/ operating areas
Continental Europe |
48% |
United Kingdom |
31% |
Latin America |
15% |
Sovereign |
6% |
Santander net lending came to EUR 685,497 million at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 19% in euros or 26% before the exchange rate effect.
In Continental Europe, customer lending grew by 4% to EUR 331,184 million, with increases in all countries and units. In Spain, lending by the Santander branch network and Banesto grew by 3% and 2%, respectively. In Portugal, Santander Totta rose by 6%. Santander Consumer increased lending by 23%, including the EUR 2,200 million consumer loan portfolio in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria acquired from the Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as the consumer finance business acquired by GE Money.
In Latin America, loan volume increased to EUR 99,963 million, growth of 7% in euros and 14% in local currencies. Lending in Brazil grew by 30%, in Chile by 11% and fell in Mexico by 6%, affected by the slowdown in the cards business, in local currencies.
The United Kingdom closed the quarter with loan volume of EUR 212,624 million, an increase of euros 29% in euros and 51% in pounds. Mortgage business grew 8% to EUR £122,900 million, while A&L's mortgage portfolio fell by 11% to £37,100 million, for total mortgage lending of £160,000 million. Total personal loans, not considered a strategic business, fell by 18% to £ 5,400 million.
Customer funds under management
EUR billion and % variation Mar 09 / Mar 08
Mar 08 |
Jun 08 |
Sep 08 |
Dec 08 |
Mar 09 |
||
Total |
792 |
809 |
829 |
827 |
875 |
+10.5%* |
Other |
162 |
158 |
151 |
131 |
129 |
-20.0% |
Other on-balance sheet |
326 |
322 |
314 |
318 |
319 |
-2.2% |
Customer deposits w/o REPOS |
304 |
329 |
364 |
378 |
427 |
+40.4% |
(*) W/o exchange rate impact, total: +14.5%
Customer funds under management. March 2009
% o/ operating areas
Continental Europe |
40% |
United Kingdom |
30% |
Latin America |
23% |
Sovereign |
7% |
In savings, customer funds under management rose by 10% in euros to EUR 874,989 million at the close of March, 2009, an increase of 14% without the exchange rate effect. Customer deposits rose by 33% to EUR 477,015 million, an increase of 15% if the impact of the new acquisitions and securities repurchase agreements are excluded.
Customer deposits in Continental Europe rose by 19% to EUR 175,325 million. In Spain, the Santander branch network increased deposits by 19% and Banesto by 12%. Deposits in Portugal rose by 22% and in Santander Consumer Finance by 50%.
Deposits in Latin America rose to EUR 112,495 million, growth of 8% in euros and 17% without the exchange rate effect. In Brazil, deposits rose by 25%, in Chile by 8% and in Mexico by 5%, in local currencies.
In the United Kingdom, deposits were increased by 40% in euros and by 63% in pounds, to EUR 148,338 million. Deposits and funds grew by 15% at Abbey and by 12% at A&L.
Acquisitions boost diversification
In 2008, Santander acquired Alliance & Leicester (October 10) and the deposits and distribution channels of Bradford & Bingley (September 29). Following these acquisitions, Santander had a market share of 10% in deposits and 13% in mortgages in the U.K. The Group has become the second largest mortgage bank in the market and the third largest in retail deposits, with 1,328 branches and 25 million customers.
Banco Santander also completed on January 30, 2009, the acquisition of 100% of Sovereign Bancorp, in which the Bank already had a 24.35% stake. Sovereign was incorporated into Group accounts from February 1. Sovereign contributes $55,183 million in loans (EUR 41,466 million) and customer deposits of $50,715 million (EUR 38,108 million). Since the acquisition of Sovereign was announced, the outflow of deposits has been staunched. At the end of March, deposits were $1,500 million higher than a year earlier, driven by time deposits.
These acquisitions and that of Banco Real in 2007, together with smaller purchases in consumer finance, have contributed to enhancing Santander's geographical and exchange rate diversification. This geographical diversification, always focused on retail and commercial banking, is one of the hallmarks of Banco Santander.
At the end of March, Continental Europe accounted for 48% of lending and 37% of deposits; the United Kingdom 31% of lending and deposits; Latin America 15% of lending and 24% of deposits and Sovereign 6% and 8%, respectively.
Sovereign: integration in Grupo Santander.
SOV's Group share of 5-6%, increasing its diversification
Group's share: Balance sheet / Structure |
||
US$ Bill. |
SOV |
% o/ Group |
Total assets |
76 |
+5% |
Gross loans |
57 |
+6% |
Customer funds |
70 |
+6% |
- Deposits |
51 |
+8% |
Branches (#) |
750 |
5% |
Headcount ('000) |
10.2 |
6% |
Geographic distribution
Loans |
|
Continental Europe |
48% |
United Kingdom |
31% |
Latam |
15% |
USA (SOV) |
6% |
Deposits |
|
Continental Europe |
37% |
United Kingdom |
31% |
Latam |
24% |
USA (SOV) |
8% |
Data as of March 2009 under Spain's criteria.
The share and the dividend
At the close of the first quarter, Banco Santander's eligible capital came to EUR 73,980 million, with a surplus of EUR 30,293 million above the required regulatory minimum. With this capital base, the BIS ratio, using Basel II criteria, comes to 13.5%, Tier I to 8.9% and core capital to 7.3%. These ratios underline Santander's capital strength.
Strong capital base
"Best in class" thanks to solid core capital …
Core capital |
|
2005 |
6.1% |
2006 |
5.9% |
2007 |
6.3% |
Dec'08 |
7.5% |
Mar'09 |
7.3% |
Note: 2008 and 2009 under BIS II rules, previous years under BIS I |
Core capital |
|
Current target |
7% |
Previous target |
6% |
In Q1'09: |
|
Capital generation: |
+20 bp |
Acquisitions impact: |
-40 bp |
The Santander share ended March at EUR 5.19 euros (and has since risen to more than EUR 6.60), resulting in a market capitalization of EUR 54,000 million, making Santander the seventh largest bank in the world by stock market value. The Board of Directors approved a total dividend of EUR 0.65 against 2008 results, the same per share payout as in 2007. Still pending is the payment to shareholders of the fourth dividend, for EUR 0.257, from May 1.
At the close of the first quarter, Santander has 3,195,622 shareholders. Total employment in the Group was 181,166, serving 91 million customers in 14,196 branches, making Santander the international financial group with the most shareholders and the largest branch network.
More information at: www.santander.com
Income statement |
||||
Million euros |
||||
Variation |
||||
Q1 '09 |
Q1' 08 |
Amount |
% |
|
Net interest income |
6,234 |
5,101 |
1,133 |
22.2 |
Dividends |
87 |
62 |
25 |
40.9 |
Income from equity-accounted method |
(11) |
102 |
(113) |
- |
Net fees |
2,210 |
2,334 |
(123) |
(5.3) |
Gains (losses) on financial transactions |
869 |
771 |
98 |
12.7 |
Other operating income/expense |
65 |
69 |
(5) |
(6.6) |
Gross income |
9,454 |
8,438 |
1,016 |
12.0 |
Operating expenses |
(4,080) |
(3,780) |
(300) |
7.9 |
General administrative expenses |
(3,691) |
(3,430) |
(261) |
7.6 |
Personnel |
(2,111) |
(1,983) |
(128) |
6.5 |
Other administrative expenses |
(1,580) |
(1,447) |
(133) |
9.2 |
Depreciation and amortisation |
(389) |
(351) |
(39) |
11.0 |
Net operating income |
5,374 |
4,658 |
716 |
15.4 |
Net loan-loss provisions |
(2,234) |
(1,290) |
(944) |
73.2 |
Impairment losses on other assets |
(25) |
(13) |
(12) |
95.4 |
Other income |
(283) |
(301) |
19 |
(6.2) |
Profit before taxes (w/o capital gains) |
2,832 |
3,054 |
(222) |
7.3 |
Tax on profit |
(622) |
(712) |
90 |
(12.6) |
Profit from continuing operations (w/o capital gains) |
2,210 |
2,341 |
(132) |
5.6 |
Net profit from discontinued operations |
(14) |
1 |
(15) |
- |
Consolidated profit (w/o capital gains) |
2,195 |
2,342 |
(147) |
(6.3) |
Minority interests |
99 |
136 |
(36) |
(26.8) |
Attributable profit to the Group (w/o capital gains) |
2,096 |
2,206 |
(110) |
(5.0) |
Net extraordinary capital gains and allowances |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Attributable profit to the Group |
2,096 |
2,206 |
(110) |
(5.0) |
EPS (euros) (1) |
0.2472 |
0.3086 |
(0.0614) |
(19.9) |
Diluted EPS (euros) (1) |
0.2460 |
0.3066 |
(0.0606) |
(19.8) |
Pro memoria: |
||||
Average |
1,076,112 |
924,553 |
151,559 |
16.4 |
Average shareholders' equity |
63,272 |
50,721 |
12,551 |
24.7 |
(1).- Q1'08 data have been adjusted to the capital increase with preemptive rights at the end of 2008.
Customer loans |
|||||
Million euros |
|||||
Variation |
|||||
31.03.09 |
31.03.08 |
Amount |
% |
31.12.08 |
|
Public sector |
7,514 |
5,460 |
2,054 |
37.6 |
7,668 |
Other residents |
231,211 |
229,778 |
1,434 |
0.6 |
230,783 |
Commercial bills |
11,390 |
16,430 |
(5,040) |
(30.7) |
14,874 |
Secured loans |
124,421 |
124,441 |
(20) |
(0.0) |
123,566 |
Other loans |
95,400 |
88,906 |
6,494 |
7.3 |
92,343 |
Non-resident sector |
461,581 |
351,899 |
109,682 |
31.2 |
400,903 |
Secured loans |
270,826 |
197,389 |
73,438 |
37.2 |
229,761 |
Other loans |
190,754 |
154,510 |
36,244 |
23.5 |
171,142 |
Gross customer loans |
700,306 |
587,136 |
113,169 |
19.3 |
639,354 |
Loan-loss allowances |
14,809 |
10,351 |
4,458 |
43.1 |
12,466 |
Net customer loans |
685,497 |
576,786 |
108,712 |
18.8 |
626,888 |
Pro memoria: Doubtful loans |
18,683 |
7,936 |
10,747 |
135.4 |
13,968 |
Public sector |
15 |
1 |
14 |
- |
1 |
Other residents |
7,748 |
2,461 |
5,287 |
214.8 |
6,208 |
Non-resident sector |
10,921 |
5,474 |
5,446 |
99.5 |
7,759 |
Customer funds under management |
|||||
Million euros |
|||||
Variation |
|||||
31.03.09 |
31.03.08 |
Amount |
% |
31.12.08 |
|
Public sector |
17,080 |
13,752 |
3,328 |
24.2 |
13,720 |
Other residents |
119,755 |
104,601 |
15,153 |
14.5 |
117,776 |
Demand deposits |
52,918 |
51,179 |
1,739 |
3.4 |
51,300 |
Time deposits |
48,374 |
32,680 |
15,693 |
48.0 |
46,783 |
REPOs |
18,463 |
20,742 |
(2,279) |
(11.0) |
19,693 |
Non-resident sector |
340,180 |
239,814 |
100,366 |
41.9 |
288,734 |
Demand deposits |
178,147 |
116,551 |
61,596 |
52.8 |
151,774 |
Time deposits |
132,412 |
93,176 |
39,236 |
42.1 |
115,620 |
REPOs |
23,338 |
27,991 |
(4,652) |
(16.6) |
17,187 |
Public Sector |
6,282 |
2,096 |
4,186 |
199.7 |
4,153 |
Customer deposits |
477,015 |
358,168 |
118,847 |
33.2 |
420,229 |
Debt securities |
228,891 |
235,703 |
(6,812) |
(2.9) |
236,403 |
Subordinated debt |
39,818 |
36,194 |
3,624 |
10.0 |
38,873 |
On-balance sheet customer funds |
745,724 |
630,065 |
115,659 |
18.4 |
695,506 |
Mutual funds |
89,116 |
122,812 |
(33,696) |
(27.4) |
90,306 |
Pension funds |
10,567 |
11,537 |
(970) |
(8.4) |
11,128 |
Managed portfolios |
16,612 |
17,381 |
(769) |
(4.4) |
17,289 |
Savings-insurance policies |
12,970 |
9,821 |
3,150 |
32.1 |
12,338 |
Other customer funds under management |
129,265 |
161,550 |
(32,286) |
(20.0) |
131,061 |
Customer funds under management |
874,989 |
791,615 |
83,374 |
10.5 |
826,567 |
Shareholders' equity and minority interests |
|||||
Million euros |
|||||
Variation |
|||||
31.03.09 |
31.03.08 |
Amount |
% |
31.12.08 |
|
Capital stock |
4,078 |
3,127 |
951 |
30.4 |
3,997 |
Additional paid-in surplus |
29,309 |
20,370 |
8,939 |
43.9 |
28,104 |
Reserves |
36,723 |
32,363 |
4,360 |
13.5 |
28,024 |
Treasury stock |
(662) |
(374) |
(288) |
76.8 |
(421) |
Shareholders' equity (before profit and dividends) |
69,447 |
55,486 |
13,961 |
25.2 |
59,704 |
Attributable profit |
2,096 |
2,206 |
(110) |
(5.0) |
8,876 |
Interim dividend distributed |
(2,713) |
(2,307) |
(407) |
17.6 |
(1,711) |
Interim dividend not distributed |
(2,099) |
(1,763) |
(336) |
19.0 |
(3,102) |
Shareholders' equity (after retained profit) |
66,731 |
53,622 |
13,109 |
24.4 |
63,768 |
Valuation adjustments |
(7,487) |
(1,955) |
(5,532) |
282.9 |
(8,300) |
Minority interests |
2,620 |
2,446 |
174 |
7.1 |
2,415 |
Total equity (after retained profit) |
61,864 |
54,113 |
7,751 |
14.3 |
57,883 |
Preferred shares and securities in subordinated debt |
7,856 |
7,432 |
424 |
5.7 |
8,673 |
Total equity and capital with the nature of financial liabilities |
69,720 |
61,544 |
8,175 |
13.3 |
66,555 |
Computable capital and BIS II ratio |
||
Million euros |
||
31.03.09 |
31.12.08 |
|
Core capital |
40,030 |
38,968 |
Basic capital |
48,727 |
46,894 |
Supplementary capital |
26,968 |
25,225 |
Deductions |
(1,715) |
(3,816) |
Computable capital |
73,980 |
68,302 |
Risk-weighted assets |
546,088 |
514,003 |
BIS II ratio |
13.5 |
13.3 |
Tier I (before deductions) |
8.9 |
9.1 |
Core capital |
7.3 |
7.5 |
Shareholders' equity surplus (BIS II ratio) |
30,293 |
27,182 |
Related Shares:
Banco Santander