Looking back at the 2024, it’s clear that it has been yet another strong year for NLB Group – one that will play a crucial role in shaping not only its future, but also in the development of the Southeastern European region in which the Group operates.
It was a year that, amongst others, marked the successful acquisitions of SLS Group and Generali Investments AD Skopje, dynamic activity on regional financial and international capital markets, several enhancements in clients’ user experience, a substantial dividend payout of EUR 220 million in two tranches, and kicked off a new period in the Group’s transformation with the introduction of its new business strategy.
The financial year concluded with a strong profit after tax result at EUR 514.6 million, with pre-provision profit up a respectable 9% YoY (EUR 51.2 million). Profit after tax was, however, still down EUR 36.1 million or a 7% decline compared to the previous year, which was positively influenced by the booking of deferred tax assets (EUR 61.9 million) and negatively by the booking of WHT (EUR 9.6 million), with 2024 also showing a moderate, but still positive cost of risk of 14 bps (2023 still had a negative cost of risk).
Global economic development that held up well in the first half of the year, albeit being more moderate later, nevertheless supported NLB Group’s performance. All our banking members in our home region of SEE strengthened their market positions, with subsidiaries delivering solid net earnings and contributing 58.2% to the Group’s after-tax result. This further underscores the importance of diversified operations – not only in banking but across the broader financial sector, which ultimately remains a key pillar of the Group’s vision for the future. NLB Group is firmly positioned for further growth and development, continued delivery on shareholders’ expectations – indeed, we expect this year’s dividend payout to reach 50% of 2024’s profit – and the ability to continue supporting all the markets, societies, and communities in our home region where we operate.
The Supervisory Board is satisfied with the Group’s strong baseline performance, exemplifying that even in a dynamic environment, the Group maintains its resilience and prudence in decision-making. Our operating model is future-oriented, focused on end-to-end process optimisation and subsequent digitalization, allowing scalability, understanding of technology and data, and the talent required to utilise it productively, investing in it to help transform the bank. The end game is to serve the clients better and with more tailor-made solutions, enhancing their user experience. That said, we are confidently looking ahead towards our communicated strategic ambitions and our ability to deliver on long-term growth targets and the creation of lasting value for all stakeholders.
We kindly invite all interested stakeholders to the presentation of the NLB Group’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 results, hosted by the NLB Management Board. The call will take place on Thursday, 20 February, 2025, at 16:00 CEST/15.00 UK and will be available here.
Members of the Management Board will, as usual, receive and address your questions live during the webcast. If you already know what you wish to ask them, you may submit your questions in advance. If you register for the event, you will be able to send them via the web app, or you may simply send them to the email address IR@nlb.si.
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