DGAP-News

Strong business at comdirect - pre-tax profit of EUR82.6 million

DGAP-News: comdirect bank AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Dividend
Strong business at comdirect - pre-tax profit of EUR82.6 million

27.01.2015 / 07:30

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Strong business at comdirect - pre-tax profit of EUR82.6 million

- Record income: Profit target exceeded

- Best trading year ever:11 million trades

- Proposed dividend: 40 cents a share

Quickborn/Frankfurt am Main, 27 January 2015. The comdirect group finished
financial year 2014 with a pre-tax profit of EUR82.6m (previous year:
EUR80.0m) and therefore significantly exceeded its target of EUR75m.

Total income amounted to EUR353.5m. This was EUR13.6m more than the
previous year's high income level of EUR339.9m. One of the reasons for
these record earnings was higher trade figures with B2C customers. "Our
customers traded more in 2014 than ever before," says Holger Hohrein,
member of the Board of Managing Directors of comdirect. A total of 11.1
million orders were executed (previous year: 10.0 million). This led to a
EUR4.9m increase in net commission income to EUR193.2m (previous year:
EUR188.3m). Net interest income after provisions for possible loan losses
likewise increased, improving by EUR8.3m to EUR145.5m (previous year:
EUR137.2m). Key factors in this development were the growth in deposits, in
particular in current accounts, and the revised customer conditions.
Administrative expenses were up EUR11.0m year-on-year to EUR270.9m
(previous year: EUR259.9m) due to the bank's growth, investments in the
product and service portfolio, and higher regulatory costs.

In the B2C business line (comdirect bank AG), total assets under custody
increased from EUR31.89bn to EUR34.75bn in 2014. This was above all due to
net fund inflows of a good EUR2bn. The number of customers rose by 86
thousand to a new high of 1.91 million. The number of Tagesgeld PLUS (daily
money PLUS) accounts increased by 92 thousand to 1.55 million, while the
number of custody accounts rose by 40 thousand to 879 thousand. The most
sizeable increase was seen in the number of current account customers,
which rose by 115 thousand to 1.16 million. "Current accounts allow us to
establish stable, long-term customer relationships. And with VideoIdent
it's now possible for someone to become a customer simply and from the
comfort of their own home," says Hohrein. "It's also just as easy to put
money away - with a chance at getting a return for it. Investing in
securities isn't wizardry. It can be done in a way that is understandable