Credito Siciliano: Draft financial statements as at 31.12.06 approved.
Earnings trends show improvement:
net profit of € 7.8 million, up 24.2% year-on-year
The main equity aggregates show significant growth:
Direct deposits at € 2,232 million (+7.9% compared to 31.12.2005).
Indirect deposits at € 1,532 million (+1.6% compared to 31.12.2005).
Loans to customers at € 1,839 million (+7.1% compared to 31.12.2005).
| (figures shown in millions of euros) | 31.12.2006 | 31.12.20051 | change |
| Interest margin | 83.9 | 76.8 | + 9.1% |
| Brokerage margin | 133.3 | 123.0 | + 8.3% |
| Net result of financial operations | 121.1 | 114.3 | + 6% |
| Gross operating profit | 16.3 | 13.8 | + 18.5% |
| Profit for the year | 7.8 | 6.3 | + 24.2% |
| Direct deposits | 2,232 | 2,068 | + 7.9% |
| Indirect deposits | 1,532 | 1,507 | + 1.6% |
| Overall deposits | 3,764 | 3,575 | + 5.3% |
| Loans to customers | 1,839 | 1,716 | + 7.1% |
Acireale, 22 February 2007. Chaired by Carlo Negrini, the Board of Directors of Credito Siciliano, a bank belonging to the Credito Valtellinese banking group, has examined and approved the draft financial statement for the 2006 financial year - the first one to be drafted according to the new IASs/IFRSs international accounting standards - which shows positive development for the primary economic indicators and growth in total assets.
The results obtained mark a further milestone in the growth process in line with the targets set for Credito Siciliano. In addition to the improvement in the main income indicators, management policies led to an upwards trend in brokered volumes. The progress that has been made is the consequence of a series of actions aimed at enhancing the bank's range of products, as well as strengthening and improving the overall efficiency of the branch network through rationalisation.
In 2006 the branches Palermo 10, Sciacca, Catania 9, Ispica and Catania 10 were opened, bringing the total number of branches in the operating network up to 136 at 31 December 2006, with distribution throughout the provinces of Sicily.
Turning to the bank's income, the interest margin stood at € 83.9 million, up 9.1% from December 2005; the brokerage margin was up 8.3% year-on-year to € 133.3 million.
Net adjustments to financial assets, mainly loans, for a total value of € 12.2 million establish the net financial operating result at € 121.1 million, a 6% increase compared to € 114.3 million as at December 2005.
Operating costs were up 4.3% from the 2005 figure to € 104.8 million. Breaking the figure down, personnel costs climbed from € 51.2 million to € 52.4 million, an increase of 2.5%, whereas administrative expenses stood at € 47.8 million, versus € 43.8 million the previous year, an increase of 9.2%. The ratio of operating costs to the brokerage margin stood at 78.5%, as opposed to 81.7% in 2005, part of an upwards trend.
Gross operating profit totalled € 16.3 million euro, marking a 18.5% improvement over the € 13.8 million from the end of 2005.
Considering the total of € 1.9 million in profit on equity investments measured with the net equity method and an estimated € 10.4 million in tax charges for the period, net profit for the year totalled € 7.8 million, a 24.2% increase over € 6.3 million from 2005.
As for the equity aggregates, direct deposits were up 7.9% from € 2,068 million in December 2005 to € 2,232 million. Indirect deposits rose 1.6% from € 1,507 million the previous year to € 1,532 million. The assets under management component held steady. Total deposits increased by 5.3%, from € 3,575 million to € 3,764 million. There was a positive trend in loans to customers, which rose 7.1% from € 1,716 million at the end of 2005 to € 1,839 million. The ratio of loans to direct deposits held substantially steady at 83%, confirming the bank's commitment and constant attention to developing the local economy.
At the shareholders' meeting convened with first call on 3 April 2007, the distribution of profits will be proposed in the form of a dividend of € 0.55 per share, an increase of 120% over the dividend of € 0.25 in 2005. The dividend will be paid on 13 April 2007.
Company Contacts:
Tiziana Camozzi
Institutional Communication and Press Service
Telephone 0280.637.471
Email: camozzi.tiziana@creval.it
Filippo Licata
Institutional Communication and Press Service for Sicily
Telephone 095.600.280
Email: licata.filippo@creval.it
Raffaella Premoli
Institutional Communication and Press Service
Telephone 0280.637.403
Email: premoli.raffaella@creval.it
Accounting schedules: reclassified balance sheet and income statement
One should note that review is still underway by the external auditing firm.
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1. The comparative data at 31.12.2005 were recalculated according to the new IASs/IFRSs.
The main adjustments were due to the application of the amortised cost principle to the measurement of financial instruments booked to the items "Loans to banks" and "Loans to customers", referring both to performing and non-performing loans, and to the measurement of equity investments in companies subject to considerable influence with the net equity method.
On the whole, the use of the above criteria and the further provisions of the new standards led to a positive effect of € 3.4 million on the income statement for 2005, as recalculated according to IASs/IFRSs, compared to the figures calculated according to Italian accounting standards pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 87/92.
