EQS-News

GRENKE STARTS YEAR WITH STRONG Q1 2024

EQS-News: GRENKE AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Quarterly / Interim Statement GRENKE STARTS YEAR WITH STRONG Q1 2024 15.05.2024 / 07:05 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. GRENKE STARTS YEAR WITH STRONG Q1 2024

• Group earnings increased 25% to EUR 19.8 million (Q1 2023: EUR 15.9 million)
• Equity ratio of 18.8 % above self-set target of 16% despite share buyback
• 2024 forecast reaffirmed

Baden-Baden, May 15, 2024: GRENKE AG, a global financing partner for small and medium-sized enterprises, increased its Group earnings by 25% to EUR 19.8 million in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2023: EUR 15.9 million). The continued strong growth in new business in past quarters and the improvement in the margin situation in 2023 contributed to this performance. The CM2 margin expanded to 16.8% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 16.7% in the first quarter of 2023. The cost income ratio (CIR) equalled 58.1% (Q1 2023: 57.1%), marking an improvement compared to the 2023 full-year average (59.2%).

Dr Sebastian Hirsch, CEO of GRENKE AG: “We’ve had a strong start to the year. We were able to build on the previous year’s momentum and still have plenty of potential. These are the best prerequisites for staying on track to achieve our ambitions for the year as a whole.”

Dr Martin Paal, designated CFO of GRENKE AG: “Including the additional investments we have made in our digitalisation, our costs are in line with our plan. At the same time, the growth in our interest income in absolute terms is outpacing the increase in our interest expenses, which should provide a further boost to our profitability in the quarters ahead.”

Higher interest income

Interest income in the first quarter of 2024 increased year-on-year by EUR 23.6 million to a total of EUR 132.1 million (Q1 2023: EUR 108.5 million). At the same time, the strong growth in new business led to higher refinancing requirements while capital market interest rates remained high. Consequently, interest expenses increased by EUR 21.6 million to EUR 46.1 million (Q1 2023: EUR 24.5 million). As a result, net interest income (the balance of interest income and interest expenses) rose to EUR 86.1 million in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023: EUR 84.0 million).