DGAP-News

comdirect: Half-year pre-tax profit of EUR87.9m

DGAP-News: comdirect bank AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
comdirect: Half-year pre-tax profit of EUR87.9m

26.07.2016 / 07:30
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comdirect: Half-year pre-tax profit of EUR87.9m

- Earnings of more than EUR216m in the first half-year

- Non-recurring effect from VISA transaction of around EUR41m

- Profitability target for 2016 as a whole: more than 19% return on
equity before tax

- On the way to becoming the first choice in saving, investing and
trading with securities: 28,000 more custody accounts and EUR3.5bn net
fund inflows to custody accounts

Quickborn, Germany, 26 July 2016. The comdirect group closed the first half
of 2016 with a pre-tax profit of EUR87.9m. Behind the significant increase
on the previous year (EUR51.3m) is the non-recurring income of around
EUR41m before taxes announced in January and resulting from the membership
of VISA Europe and its integration in VISA Inc. USA. The market-related
decline in net interest income and net commission income was almost made up
for by active cost and investment management. "Overall, we can look back on
a reasonable first half-year", said Arno Walter, CEO of comdirect bank AG.
"We are seeing profitable growth, we are delivering good results and we are
developing further strategically. This is demonstrated by the many new
products that we have introduced in recent months, from the comdirect
trading app to our own consumer loan. We are one of Germany's most
profitable retail banks: we are striving for a return on equity of more
than 19% for the year as a whole. This corresponds to a pre-tax profit of
around EUR110m for the year as a whole."

The comdirect group generated total income of EUR216.1m in the first six
months of the year (previous year: EUR190.3m). Of this, EUR41.1m was
attributable to the extraordinary income from the VISA transaction, which
is reported in the result from financial investments. At EUR108.4m, net
commission income remained at a high level, although it was 7% below the
previous year's record level (EUR116.1m). The fall is primarily due to the
sunken level of the share price, which had an impact on the sales follow-up
commission from the funds business and led to a lower average order volume.
It is also down to a change in the composition of trades in the B2C
business line. At 7.5 million, the number of B2C trades was slightly above