Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (apoBank) completed the 2015 financial year with an operating result of €153.4 million, considerably exceeding the previous year’s figure by a total of 8.1 percent (2014: €141.8 million). Net profit after tax also increased by 8 percent, to €59.1 million (2014: 54.5 million). As a result of this positive trend, the Bank strengthened its after-tax reserves as well as reserves with equity character by a further €127 million (2014: €148 million) and will propose an attractive dividend of 4 percent at the Annual General Meeting.
Growth in the customer business continued in the year under review. The number of clients rose to 397,000 (2014: 382,000). New additions came from both the customer groups of self-employed health care professionals as well as salaried health care professionals and students of the academic health care professions. At year-end, the number of members reached 107,768 (2014: 105,864).
Herbert Pfennig, Chairman of the Board of Directors: "In a highly competitive market, we successfully continued on our growth path in 2015. The strategically motivated expansion of our sales organisation in recent years is paying off." Lending was characterised by very dynamic new customer business; new loans rose from €5.2 billion to €6.3 billion compared to the previous year - this is the highest level in over 10 years. Positive momentum was generated by the comparably new customer segment of salaried health care professionals as well as from the corporate clients segment.
The Bank posted growth of 7.7 percent to €133.0 million in the commission business. "Both our retail and institutional clients are increasingly coming to us for our investment expertise. This is proof that our integrated approach to customer support is the right one ," Pfennig added.
However, the significant increase in net commission income did not fully compensate for the drop in net interest income caused by low interest rates. Therefore, the operating result, i.e. profit before risk provisioning, at €304.8 million, was down on the previous year’s level, as expected (2014: €337.1 million).
In the year under review, apoBank’s equity situation remained comfortable. The regulatory capital ratios, already at a high level, rose again slightly. The common equity tier 1 ratio rose by 1.8 percentage points to 22.0 percent. The equity ratio grew to 26.1 percent.
Dr. Thomas Siekmann, CFO: "apoBank stands out for its forward-looking, conservative risk policy. Our good equity situation forms the foundation for our sustainable growth strategy. At the same time, we are using it to equip ourselves for stricter future regulatory conditions."