FIMBank Group announces positive half-yearly results

06.08.2010

The FIMBank Group has announced an after-tax profit of USD3.39 million for the six months ended 30 June 2010, an increase of 16% over the USD2.92 million registered for the same period in 2009. Other key financial indicators also strengthened in the first half of this year. Group Net Operating Income rose to USD 15.64 million (2009 -- USD 14.54 million) while total consolidated assets increased by 11%, reaching USD 770 million from USD 695 million at the end of 2009. Group basic Earnings per Share for the period amounted to US cents 2.50 (US cents 2.15 in 2009). Liquidity ratios averaged well above the statutory requirements during the period under review while Basle II solvency ratios, at 25%, were strong and comfortably beyond the minimum regulatory benchmarks.

These figures emerge from the Consolidated interim results of the FIMBank Group which were approved at a meeting of its Board of Directors on 5 August 2010. In their Half-Yearly Report the Directors noted “a renewed appetite for business as emerging market conditions are expected to alleviate and the flow of trade picks up” leading to a “balance-sheet that is healthy and growing, as is the general pipeline of business.”

Commenting on the results and performance for the first half of 2010, Group President Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger stated that as favourable economic forecasts fuelled a more optimistic outlook for 2010, and global credit risk perceptions slowly started to improve, international financial markets started to stabilize and liquidity has being showing gradual signs of easing. “With liquidity and capital adequacy ratios at healthy levels and a more stable access to funding, the Group sought to capitalise on the current business sentiment, continue with its strategy of pursuing long-term factoring investments and projects and with a qualitative focus on profitability”. The result is a performance for the period that is very satisfactory and supported by an outlook of improved cost management, control over new impairments and recoveries in fair value write-downs and losses of prior years”. Mrs Lütschg-Emmenegger also highlighted the significant progress with respect to the two international factoring joint-ventures being set up in India and Russia, both expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2010.

Most importantly “in the first half of 2010, the Group continued to expand its client and product base in both existing and new geographical markets, strengthening the engine for future revenue and income growth in our specialist areas of business”, ended Mrs Lütschg-Emmenegger.

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