Interim Results

Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. 22 July 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 22, 2003 BANCO COMERCIAL PORTUGUES ('BCP') EARNINGS RELEASE FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2003 • Net income for the second quarter of 2003 at Euro 114.7 million, 20.0% up from the previous quarter; • Successful cost controls led to improvement in domestic cost-income ratio to 56.5% from 60.7% in the first quarter of 2003; • Seguros e Pensoes (consolidated by the equity method) makes a positive contribution to consolidated net income; • Increased commission income boosted by fees from cards, operations on securities and investment banking; • Outsourcing of part of the Group's IT infrastructure expected to strongly reduce future IT costs and investments; • Focused growth of loans to customers. Special emphasis on mortgages: loans up 4.9% from the end of March 2003, and market leadership in terms of new business during the quarter; • Reinforced provisions for loan losses and maintenance of high credit quality: loans overdue by more than 90 days at 1.6% of total loans and coverage by provisions at 145.2%; • BCP Investimento considered by Euromoney one of the best investment banks operating in Portugal four years in a row, this time taking the award for 'Best Domestic Securities Firm in Portugal'; • Leadership in internet banking: - cidadebcp leads domestic online financial services, according to market surveys by Marktest, and is considered the best financial site in Portugal by the PC Guia magazine, for the second consecutive year; - 2003 edition of the 'World's Best Internet Banks' awards, granted by Global Finance: managerland considered the Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Bank in Portugal and the Best Corporate/Institutional Integrated Site in Europe. ActivoBank7 winner of the European awards for Best Consumer Online Securities Trading and Best Consumer Web Site Design. The consolidated net income of Banco Comercial Portugues amounted to Euro 114.7 million in the second quarter of 2003, up 20.0% from Euro 95.6 million in the previous quarter. Consolidated net income for the first half of 2003 totalled Euro 210.2 million, compared to Euro 320.9 million in the same period of 2002. Return on equity stood at 18.2%, with return on assets standing at 0.7%. PROFITABILITY 2nd Quarter 1st Quarter Change INDICATORS 2003 2003 1Q03-2Q03 Net income 114.7 95.6 20.0% (Millions of euros) ROE 18.2% 17.9% - ROA 0.7% 0.6% - ROA before minority interests 0.8% 0.7% - 'The 20% increase in our quarterly earnings reflects the rebound in Seguros e Pensoes' results and our efforts to improve the Bank's profitability, aimed at the preservation of interest margins - compensating the continuing decrease in interest rates through a focused loan growth, with the emphasis on mortgages reflected in the Group's leadership of the Portuguese market, in terms of new mortgage loans - and at boosting commissions, as well as concentrating on the continued implementation of cost rationalisation initiatives, both domestically and abroad', commented Mr. Jardim Goncalves, BCP's Chairman and CEO, with regard to BCP's consolidated earnings performance during the second quarter of 2003. 'The acquisition of Seguros e Pensoes at the end of March 2003 has made a positive contribution to consolidated earnings, reflecting the substantial progress of the programmes aimed at reducing Seguros e Pensoes' exposure to market risks and at decreasing its costs and improving its operating performance. We were also able to take advantage of the significant capital and extraordinary gains resulting from the more positive performance of capital markets over the last months to reinforce the Bank's provisions for loan losses, thus increasing provision coverage of past due loans.' Net interest income increased to Euro 367.3 million in the second quarter of 2003 from Euro 364.0 million in the previous quarter. This performance was mainly attributable to a higher volume of interest-earning assets stemming from increased business. This offset the impact of credit securitisation. It was also helped by the fact that BCP was able to restrict the decrease in net interest margin, down from 2.8% in the first quarter of 2003 to 2.7% in the second quarter, to less than that of the key market interest rates. Net interest income also benefited from the impact of BCP's share capital increase at the end of March 2003. The Bank's prudent provisioning policy, aimed at keeping high coverage of past due loans, and the strengthening of provisions to take advantage of significant market gains during the quarter, resulted in an increase in charges to provisions for loan losses to Euro 113.1 million in the second quarter of 2003 from Euro 78.5 million in the first quarter. The steep increase in income from securities, to Euro 65.5 million in the second quarter of 2003 from Euro 11.7 million in the previous quarter, resulted from the appropriation of Seguros e Pensoes' net income from March 31 and from the booking of dividends from the Group's investments in EDP, Intesa and Friends Provident. Net commissions totalled Euro 143.1 million, compared to Euro 135.7 million in the first quarter of 2003, and were boosted by continuing efforts to optimise pricing. The performance of income from cards and from operations on securities stood out, the latter being influenced by the impact of BCP's share capital increase. Commissions from investment banking are also worth mentioning. The expertise of the BCP Group in this business is demonstrated by the fact that BCP Investimento is, for the fourth consecutive year, considered by Euromoney to be one of the best investment banks operating in Portugal, taking the award for the Best Domestic Securities Firm. Whilst still maintaining a prudent approach to market risks, the Bank was able to take advantage of increased volatility in euro and US dollar interest rates in the second quarter, mainly in long maturities. This resulted in an increase in net trading income to Euro 37.1 million from Euro 28.6 million in the first quarter of 2003. Other net operating income totalled Euro 81.3 million in the second quarter of 2003 (Euro 74.6 million in the first quarter of 2003), benefiting from increased cross-selling related income. OTHER INCOME 2nd Quarter 1st Quarter Change (Millions of euros) 2003 2003 1Q03-2Q03 Net Commissions 143.1 135.7 5.5% Trading Gains 37.1 28.6 29.8% Other Net Operating Income 81.3 74.6 9.0% Operating costs (staff costs, other administrative expenses and depreciation) amounted to Euro 419.1 million, roughly unchanged from Euro 419.3 million in the first quarter of 2003. Domestic cost-income ratio improved to 56.5% from 60.7% in the first three months of 2003. Operating costs benefited from the implementation of the operating efficiency programme started in 2002 and from staff downsizing measures. Part of the Group's IT infrastructure was outsourced for a 10-year period, and this is expected to have a significant positive impact on efficiency and on IT-related investments and costs. Operating costs continued to be affected by increased expenses relating to the expansion of the Group's activity abroad. Banque Privee BCP started its operations in Switzerland, and NovaBank's business expanded both in Greece and in Turkey. Staff costs totalled Euro 216.8 million in the second quarter of 2003, compared to Euro 218.5 million in the previous quarter. The increase in domestic staff costs resulted from the integration of staff from Seguros e Pensoes into ServiBanca and from the increase in salaries established by the new Labour Agreement agreed with trade unions. Other administrative expenses stood at Euro 151.0 million (149.9 million in the first quarter of 2003) and were affected by increased advertising and outsourcing expenses. OPERATING COSTS 2nd Quarter 1st Quarter Change (Millions of euros) 2003 2003 1Q03-2Q03 Staff Costs 216.8 218.5 -0.8% Of which: domestic activity 170.0 166.2 2.3% Other Administrative Expenses 151.0 149.9 0.7% Of which: domestic activity 104.7 103.1 1.5% Depreciation 51.3 50.9 0.7% Of which: domestic activity 33.4 32.7 2.0% Operating Costs 419.1 419.3 0.0% Of which: domestic activity 308.1 302.0 2.0% Loans to customers totalled Euro 48,526 million at June 30, 2003 and Euro 48,285 million at the end of the first quarter of 2003. The Bank maintained its efforts to limit exposure to large risks and focused on mortgage loans, up to Euro 12,573 million from Euro 11,981 million at March 31, 2003. The BCP Group led the Portuguese mortgage market in terms of new loans granted during the quarter. Total customers' funds amounted to Euro 50,399 million at June 30, 2003, compared to Euro 50,670 million at March 31. Securities showed a strong performance, up 14.5% from the end of the first quarter, reflecting the transfer of customers' savings from other instruments. Assets under management and capitalisation insurance have also increased. ACTIVITY 30 Jun. 2003 31 Mar. 2003 Change INDICATORS Mar. 03-Jun. 03 (Millions of euros) Total Assets 65,496 66,239 -1.1% Loans to Customers 48,526 48,285 0.5% Total Customers' Funds - Deposits 29,048 30,214 -3.9% - Assets under Management 9,159 9,038 1.3% - Capitalisation Insurance 6,604 6,539 1.0% - Securities 5,588 4,879 14.5% - Total 50,399 50,670 -0.5% Credit quality improved from the end of the first quarter of 2003, a particularly outstanding performance given current economic conditions. Loans overdue by more than 90 days accounted for 1.6% of total loans, while provision coverage reached 145.2% (1.7% and 141.8%, respectively, at March 31, 2003). LOAN QUALITY INDICATORS 30 Jun. 2003 31 Mar. 2003 Loans overdue by more than 90 days/Total loans 1.6% 1.7% Provisions/ Loans overdue by more than 90 days 145.2% 141.8% Solvency was maintained at roughly the levels seen at the end of the first quarter, after capital strengthened significantly as a result of the capital-raising operations that took place in 2002 and in the first quarter of 2003. The consolidated solvency ratio stood at 10.7% at June 30, 2003 according to the rules of the Bank of Portugal, and at 11.6% according to BIS principles (Tier One of 7.2%). REGULATORY CAPITAL (BIS) 30 Jun. 2003 31 Mar. 2003 Change (Millions of euros) Mar. 03-Jun. 03 Tier One Capital - 'Core' 2,669 2,665 0.1% - Preference Shares 1,169 1,193 -2.0% - Total 3,838 3,858 -0.5% Tier Two Capital - Debt 2,960 3,043 -2.7% - Deductions (599) (569) 5.2% - Total 2,361 2,474 -4.6% Total Regulatory Capital 6,199 6,332 -2.1% Risk Weighted Assets 53,632 53,038 1.1% Ratios - Tier One 7.2% 7.3% - - Tier Two 4.4% 4.6% - - Total 11.6% 11.9% - In the first half of 2003, the BCP Group, through cidadebcp, became the undisputed domestic leader in online financial services. This leadership was confirmed by external entities such as Marktest and the PC Guia magazine, which considered cidadebcp the best financial site in Portugal the second year in a row. Three years after it started operating, cidadebcp reached 714,000 registered customers, 300,000 of which are registered to use SMS banking services. At the end of June 2003 cidadebcp launched a specific service for PDAs, making it a European reference in terms of mobile financial services. In July, the Group's internet banking businesses received four Global Finance awards, three of which were on a European level. In the 2003 edition of the ' World's Best Internet Banks' awards, managerland was considered the Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Bank in Portugal and the Best Corporate/ Institutional Integrated Site in Europe. ActivoBank7 won the European awards for Best Consumer Online Securities Trading and Best Consumer Web Site Design. Commenting on BCP's operations abroad, Mr. Jardim Goncalves stated: 'NovaBank's activity in Greece continues its dynamic progress with its business expanding into the Private Banking and Corporate segments. This follows its focus on high net-worth individuals, the success of which is demonstrated by the increase of business indicators, and also reflected in the improvement to its profit and loss account'. He ended with a reference to the BCP Group's activity in Poland: 'In spite of the significant impact on earnings arising from the fact that Bank Millennium ceased to consolidate PZU, an insurance company, using the equity method, the benefits stemming from the cost reduction programme currently under way are already visible. Bank Millennium continues to follow an organic growth strategy, focused on selective loan growth and on capturing customers' funds.' BANCO COMERCIAL PORTUGUES Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 30 June, 2003 and 2002 2003 2002 (Thousands of Euros) Assets Cash and deposits at central banks 986,329 1,264,840 Loans and advances to credit institutions Repayable on demand 656,135 759,449 Other loans and advances 2,535,875 3,470,180 Loans and advances to customers 48,526,209 44,216,241 Securities 4,421,944 4,172,345 Treasury stock - 23,984 Investments 2,537,500 2,642,094 Intangible assets 179,493 138,995 Tangible assets 1,242,206 1,175,280 Other debtors 1,176,729 809,978 Prepayments and accrued income 3,233,351 2,122,358 65,495,771 60,795,744 Liabilities Amounts owed to credit institutions Repayable on demand 211,504 429,226 With agreed maturity date 12,137,616 10,965,966 Amounts owed to customers Repayable on demand 11,918,307 11,871,335 With agreed maturity date 17,122,304 16,373,392 Debt securities 12,896,379 12,113,536 Other liabilities 554,901 438,190 Accruals and deferred income 2,675,163 1,632,697 Provision for liabilities and charges 1,013,928 859,384 Subordinated debt 2,910,913 2,882,675 Total Liabilities 61,441,015 57,566,401 Shareholders' Equity Share capital 3,257,401 2,326,715 Mandatorly convertible notes 528,207 - Share premium 674,229 715,117 Reserves and retained earnings (1,920,223) (1,178,122) Total Shareholders' Equity 2,539,614 1,863,710 Minority interests 345,752 160,341 Minority interests in preference shares 1,169,390 1,205,292 Total Minority Interests 1,515,142 1,365,633 65,495,771 60,795,744 BANCO COMERCIAL PORTUGUES Consolidated Statement of Income for the three months ended 30 June, 2003 and 2002 2003 2002 (Thousands of Euros) Interest income 1,571,438 1,492,564 Interest expense 840,106 828,530 Net interest income 731,332 664,034 Provision for loan losses 211,679 174,739 Net interest income after provision for loan losses 519,653 489,295 Other operating income Income from securities 77,233 113,779 Net commissions 278,846 245,255 Net income arising from trading activity 65,714 74,190 Other income 226,368 280,030 648,161 713,254 Other operating expenses Staff costs 435,387 379,136 Other administrative costs 300,922 262,879 Depreciation 102,169 81,403 Other provisions (4,673) 42,966 Other expenses 70,425 35,656 904,230 802,040 Income before income taxes 263,584 400,509 Income taxes 20,402 41,928 Income after income tax 243,182 358,581 Minority interests 32,964 37,708 Net income for the period 210,218 320,873 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings