EFG shares jump 3% following record profitability

EFG International AG

16/11/2023 08:53

ZURICH, Nov 16 (Reuters) - EFG International  EFGN.S 
shares were up 3% early on Thursday after the Swiss private bank
reported net profit of more than 240 million Swiss francs
($270.09 million) for the first 10 months of the year and
expanded its share buyback program.
    EFG reported 5.2 billion Swiss francs in net new assets for
the year to date and said it had seen a positive impact from the
more than 130 new client relationship officers  CROs  it has
hired in 2023.
    The bank's share price has risen more than 11% this year,
and hit a year-high of 10.98 Swiss francs on Nov. 1.
    "Several of our new CROs have already started to contribute
meaningfully to asset inflows in the year to date, and we expect
this trend to continue and to significantly accelerate our
growth momentum in 2024 and beyond, given the strong pipeline of
net new money," CEO Giorgio Pradelli said. 
    The bank said profitability in the 10-month period was a
record.
    The new money inflow corresponds to a growth rate of 5.2%
since July, which represents good momentum. This is likely to
accelerate further, Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Michael Klien
said.
    EFG also said it will buy back up to 3 million additional
shares by the end of April next year due to its strong capital
position. This is on top of its existing commitment to
repurchase up to 6 million shares by Sept. 11, 2024 .
    At 144.1 billion Swiss francs, assets under management were
only slightly higher than the 143.1 billion francs at the end of
2022. According to EFG, the growth in net new assets was largely
offset by negative currency effects.
    
    


($1 = 0.8886 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
 ((Noele.Illien@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 39 73;))