Czech lender Komercni Banka lifts dividend for 2025, lowers payout ratio for 2026

Komercni Banka as

06/02/2026 06:45

PRAGUE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Czech lender Komercni Banka BKOM.PR increased its dividend on Friday after reporting a nearly 5% rise in net profit in 2025, paying out 100% of earnings for a third straight year but signalling it expected to lower its payout ratio from this year.

The bank, the country's third largest and controlled by French group Societe Generale SOGN.PA, said net profit rose to 18.1 billion crowns  ($880.56 million), helped by higher lending and a release of loan-loss provisions during the year.

Keeping its temporary policy to pay 100% of profit, it proposed a 95.60 crown per share dividend for 2025, up from 91.3 crowns per share for 2024.

It said it planned to propose a dividend for 2026 based on 80% of attributable profit.

Net attributable profit in the fourth quarter fell almost 5% to 4.47 billion crowns, roughly in line with a Reuters poll estimate of 4.48 billion crowns. Net fees were down sharply versus a year ago, when a bump in cross-selling fees had led to a higher-than-usual result.

A net release in provisioning totalling 1.5 billion crowns in 2025 helped the bank's profits. Komercni Banka forecast its cost of risk to remain low in 2026 and said its lending should grow at mid- to high-single digit rates in 2026.

Revenue should accelerate also to a mid- to high-single digit rate this year, the bank said in its outlook. All revenue categories should contribute.

($1 = 20.5550 Czech crowns)

 (Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

 ((jason.hovet@thomsonreuters.com;))