Listing and initial public offering Arion Bank was listed on Nasdaq Iceland and Nasdaq Stockholm on 15 June 2018 following an initial public offering of 28.7% of shares in the Bank. The offering was heavily oversubscribed and the shares were placed with investors in Iceland, Scandinavia, the UK, Continental Europe and the US. This was the first listing of an Icelandic bank on the main market in Iceland since 2008.
Arion Bank reported net earnings of ISK 3.1 billion for the second quarter of 2018, compared with ISK 7.1 billion for the same period of 2017. Return on equity was 5.9% for the second quarter of 2018, compared with 13.0% for the same period in 2017. During the first half of 2018 net earnings were ISK 5.0 billion and return on equity 4.7% compared with ISK 10.5 billion and 9.7% during the first half of 2017.
Total assets amounted to ISK 1,174.8 billion at the end of June 2018, compared with ISK 1,147.8 billion at the end of 2017. Shareholders’ equity totalled ISK 206.9 billion, compared with ISK 225.6 billion at the end of 2017.
The Bank’s capital ratio at the end of June was 21.9%, compared with 24.0% at the end of 2017. The CET1 ratio was 21.8% at the end of June, compared with 23.6% at the end of 2017.
Highlights of the income statement and key income related performance indicators:
| In ISK millions | Q2 2018 | Q2 2017 | % change | H1 2018 | H1 2017 | % change |
| Net interest income | 7,613 | 8,160 | (7%) | 14,521 | 15,320 | (5%) |
| Net commission income | 4,492 | 3,508 | 28% | 8,034 | 6,838 | 17% |
| Net financial income | 927 | 1,975 | (53%) | 2,267 | 3,205 | (29%) |
| Net insurance income | 758 | 606 | 25% | 901 | 1,053 | (14%) |
| Share of profit of associates and impairment | 2 | (900) | (100%) | (16) | (934) | (98%) |
| Other operating income | 610 | 1,811 | (66%) | 879 | 2,375 | (63%) |
| Operating income | 14,402 | 15,160 | (5%) | 26,586 | 27,857 | (5%) |
| Salaries and related expenses | (5,011) | (4,561) | 10% | (9,647) | (8,783) | 10% |
| Other operating expenses | (3,964) | (1,223) | 224% | (7,960) | (5,057) | 57% |
| Operating expenses | (8,975) | (5,784) | 55% | (17,607) | (13,840) | 27% |
| Bank levy | (880) | (777) | 13% | (1,684) | (1,574) | 7% |
| Net impairment | (192) | 409 | (147%) | (291) | 1,289 | (123%) |
| Net earnings before taxes | 4,355 | 9,008 | (52%) | 7,004 | 13,732 | (49%) |
| Income tax expense | (1,287) | (1,895) | (32%) | (2,105) | (3,266) | (36%) |
| Discontinued operations, net of tax | (6) | 0 | - | 112 | 0 | - |
| Net earnings | 3,062 | 7,113 | (57%) | 5,011 | 10,466 | (52%) |
| KPI's | ||||||
| Return on equity | 5.9% | 13.0% | 4.7% | 9.7% | ||
| Earnings per share (in ISK) | 1.35 | 3.56 | 2.35 | 5.23 | ||
| Cost to income ratio | 62.3% | 38.2% | 66.2% | 49.7% |
Highlights of the balance sheet and key performance indicators:
| In ISK million | 30.06.2018 | 31.12.2017 | Change | % change |
| Loans to customers | 803,694 | 765,101 | 38,593 | 5% |
| Other assets | 371,151 | 382,653 | (11,503) | (3%) |
| Liabilities | 967,213 | 922,020 | 45,193 | 5% |
| Equity | 207,631 | 225,734 | (18,103) | (8%) |
| Loans to Deposits ratio | 168.8% | 165.5% | ||
| RWA / Total assets | 67.8% | 66.8% | ||
| CET 1 ratio | 21.8% | 23.6% |
For detailed information on the accounts please refer to Arion Bank’s Consolidated Interim Financial Statements for the first half of 2018 on the Bank’s website, www.arionbanki.is .
Höskuldur H. Ólafsson, CEO of Arion Bank "The Bank’s financial results for the second quarter of 2018 are in line with expectations following a somewhat challenging first three months. There was strong growth in the Bank’s regular activities, and loans to customers were up 5% during the first six months. The net interest margin on interest-bearing assets increased to 2.8% in Q2 from 2.6% in Q1, and commission income grew by more than 25%. Income from insurance activities showed more than a fourfold increase compared with the first quarter. The Bank’s balance sheet remains robust, which enables us to provide a full-range of services to our retail and corporate customers.
A major milestone was reached when the Bank was listed on the stock exchange in 15 June following a successful IPO, in which approximately 30% of the Bank was sold to investors. The IPO was heavily oversubscribed and international investors showed strong interest, with around 70% of investors in the IPO being from overseas. On 15 June Arion Bank was admitted to trading on Nasdaq Iceland and Nasdaq Stockholm simultaneously. The listing in Sweden was the second largest so far this year, while in Iceland it was the second largest listing ever.
Throughout the entire process we were delighted to see the strong level of interest from Icelandic and international investors in the Bank and our vision for the future, as well as their interest in the Icelandic economy in general. We hope that the firm backing shown by international investors will have a positive effect on the investment environment in Iceland in the long term.
One of the things which clearly attracted investors was the Bank’s robust capital position and the potential for reducing it in stages over the next few years through dividends or share buybacks. The Board of Directors has now agreed to submit a proposal to a shareholders' meeting scheduled for September that a dividend of ISK 10 billion be paid to shareholders before the end of third quarter, which corresponds to ISK 5 a share. Investors also showed an interest in developments at the Bank’s subsidiary Valitor, which operates in the field of payment services in Iceland, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. The Bank has now appointed an international management consultancy to assist with a strategic review of the company.
Arion Bank completed four new digital projects in Q2. We believe that the future success in banking in general will to a large extend depend on the ability of banks to adopt digital solutions into their operations. We were therefore pleased to be recognised by the magazine Retail Banker International, which awarded the bank a prize for the most disruptive innovation for its digital mortgage process and credit assessment.
Preparations are being made to commence a sale process for Stakksberg, the holding company of the silicon plant at Helguvík, in the second half of the year. The Bank will also continue to seek ways to optimize its capital and look into the possibility of issuing subordinated loans in the second half of the year, if market conditions allow.”
Conference call in English Arion Bank is holding a presentation in English of its financial results for market participants at 1:00 p.m. on 3 August. The presentation will be streamed live in financialhearings.com and the livestream can also be viewed on the Bank's investor relations website. Höskuldur H. Ólafsson and Stefán Pétursson will present the results and then answer any questions. If you wish to participate and submit questions, please call the following number before the presentation begins:
Sweden: +46 856 642 662 UK: +44 20 3008 9808 Iceland: 800 7417
For further information please contact Sture Stolen, head of Arion Bank’s Investor Relations at ir@arionbanki.is or Theodór Fridbertsson at Investor Relations at theodor.fridbertsson@arionbanki.is , tel. +354 444 6760.
This is information that Arion Bank hf. is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 19.00 CEST and 17.00 Iceland time, on August 2 2018.
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