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Wiesbaden (dpa) - Aareal Bank wants to deliver better results again in the current year after the red numbers in the 2020 Corona crisis.
For 2021, the real estate financier is aiming for 100 to 175 million euros in operating profit, as the money house announced in Wiesbaden on Wednesday.
However, the burdens for the institute listed in the MDax are not likely to be over yet: The board of directors is expecting above-average risk provisioning for loans at risk of default in 2021 as well.
After all, in addition to office buildings, the bank finances many hotels and shopping centers, whose business has been idle for months as a result of the measures to contain the pandemic in many countries.
In the Corona crisis, the management had to cut the profit forecasts for 2020 several times.
While the management board initially promised an operating result at the level of the 248 million euros of 2019, expectations were lowered further and further as the lockdowns tightened.
In mid-January, Aareal Bank then announced a loss in the double-digit million range.
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Ultimately, at 75 million euros, the minus was even higher than analysts expected on average.
The bottom line was a loss of 90 million euros to the shareholders after a profit of 145 million a year earlier.
The main cause was risk provisioning for impaired loans.
In the fourth quarter alone, the bank put back 177 million euros.
For the full year it was 344 million euros, almost four times as much as in 2019 (90 million euros).
The fact that Aareal Bank made less new business of 7.2 billion euros than a year earlier (7.7 billion euros) and the decline in net interest income had a rather minor impact on earnings compared to the increased risk provisioning.
CFO Marc Hess hopes that the bank has the worst behind it: "In the 2020 annual financial statements, we have comprehensively processed all of the Covid-19 risks identified today."
Even before the crisis, the bank had parted with loans at risk in Italy, for example.
By the year 2023, the management board also intends to use internal improvements to drive operating profit up to around 300 million euros.
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Aareal Bank plans to pay its shareholders a dividend of EUR 1.50 per share for the 2020 financial year.
The distribution for 2019 was canceled due to pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The annual general meeting on May 18 is now to decide on a distribution of initially 40 cents.
The remaining 1.10 euros will only be available if the banking supervisors lift their current dividend restrictions in the fall.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210224-99-571418 / 2
Aareal Bank on the 2021 balance sheet
Aareal Bank financial reports