REG - Lion Finance Grp PLC - Lion Finance Group 4Q24 & FY24 Preliminary Results
25/02/2025 07:00
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RNS Number : 2784Y Lion Finance Group PLC 25 February 2025
Contents
4Q24 and FY24 preliminary unaudited results
Earnings call on 25 February 2025, 14:00 GMT
Segmentation guide
CEO statement
Macroeconomic developments: Georgia
Macroeconomic developments: Armenia
Delivering on our strategic priorities
4Q24 and FY24 unaudited consolidated results
Business Division results
Georgian Financial Services (GFS)
Armenian Financial Services (AFS)
Ameriabank: standalone financial information (not included in consolidated
results)
Other Businesses
Unaudited consolidated financial information
Additional information
Glossary
Lion Finance Group PLC profile
Further information
Forward-looking statements
4Q24 and FY24 preliminary unaudited results
Lion Finance Group PLC announces the Group's preliminary unaudited
consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2024.
Unless otherwise noted, numbers in this announcement are given for 4Q24 and
FY24, the year-on-year comparisons are with figures of 4Q23 and FY23 that are
adjusted for one-off items and the q-o-q comparisons are with 3Q24 figures.
The information in this Announcement in respect of the full year 2024
preliminary unaudited results, which was approved by the Board of Directors on
24 February 2025, does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of
Section 434 of the UK Companies Act 2006. The statutory accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2023 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies, and
the audit reports were unqualified and contained no statements in respect of
Sections 498 (2) or (3) of the UK Companies Act 2006. The audited consolidated
financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 will be included in
the Annual Report and Accounts expected to be published in April 2025, which
will be filed with the Registrar of Companies following Lion Finance Group
PLC's Annual General Meeting.
The results are based on UK adopted international accounting standards, are
unaudited and derived from management accounts.
Earnings call on 25 February 2025, 14:00 GMT
https://bankofgeorgia.zoom.us/j/98823247870
(https://bankofgeorgia.zoom.us/j/98823247870)
Webinar ID: 988 2324 7870
Passcode: 230839
Segmentation guide
Following the acquisition of Ameriabank at the end of March 2024, the Group's
results are presented by the following Business Divisions: 1) Georgian
Financial Services (GFS), 2) Armenian Financial Services (AFS), and 3) Other
Businesses.
· GFS mainly comprises JSC Bank of Georgia and the investment bank
JSC Galt and Taggart
· AFS includes Ameriabank CJSC
· Other Businesses includes JSC Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB), which
serves retail and SME clients in Belarus; JSC Digital Area, a digital
ecosystem in Georgia including e-commerce, ticketing, and inventory management
SaaS; Lion Finance Group PLC, the holding company; and other small entities
and intragroup eliminations.
Lion Finance Group PLC delivers 4Q24 adjusted unaudited consolidated profit of
GEL 504.7m and FY24 adjusted unaudited consolidated profit of GEL 1,813.0m
The Group posted adjusted ROAE of 29.6% in 4Q24 and 30.0% for the full year of
2024.
· The Group's loan book increased by 65.9% y-o-y as at 31 December
2024 to GEL 33,558.9m, driven by strong growth of both Georgian and Armenian
businesses, as well as the Ameriabank consolidation effect.
· As at 31 December 2024, Bank of Georgia's Digital MAU among retail
customers amounted to 1.6 million individuals (up 17.5% y-o-y), while
Ameriabank's - 232 thousand individuals (up 54.4% y-o-y). Upside in Armenia
remains a top priority.
· The Board intends to recommend a final dividend of GEL 5.62 per share
for 2024 at the 2025 Annual General Meeting, bringing the total dividend for
2024 to GEL 9.00 per share - an increase of 12.5% compared with 2023. In
addition, the Board has approved a further GEL 107.7m share buyback and
cancellation programme.
CEO statement
We have recently changed the Company name from Bank of Georgia Group PLC to
Lion Finance Group PLC to better reflect the Group's broader geographical
presence, following the acquisition of Armenia's largest bank, Ameriabank, in
2024. While the Company has adopted a new name, its principal operating
entities - Bank of Georgia in Georgia and Ameriabank in Armenia -continue to
serve customers under their well-recognised top-of-mind banking brands in
their respective markets.
Political developments in Georgia have been top-of-mind recently, but the
economy has continued to be robust throughout the uncertainties, and Bank of
Georgia continues to operate as usual. Our baseline expectation for real GDP
growth remains c.5% for 2025, on top of the 9.5% economic growth achieved in
2024.
In this environment, Bank of Georgia maintained higher-than-usual liquidity
levels, reinforcing resilience while resulting in associated costs, which
slightly drove down the net interest margin in the fourth quarter, while the
core lending margin remained stable. That said, Georgian Financial Services
delivered a strong full-year performance. The loan book grew by 19.3% y-o-y in
constant currency, underpinned by sustained demand across segments. Operating
income growth was solid at 11.5% y-o-y for the full year. Asset quality
remained robust, with cost of credit risk for the full year at 0.4%. This
translated into a record profit of GEL 1.6bn (up 14.9% y-o-y), with ROAE
standing at 33.5%. Bank of Georgia further strengthened its customer
franchise, achieving a 17.5% y-o-y growth in retail Digital MAU and
record-high Net Promoter Scores in 2024.
While the Georgian business had a strong performance, our Armenian business,
now accounting for 25.6% of total assets, did even better in terms of customer
franchise growth since the consolidation date. The team in Armenia remains
focused on expanding its product offerings and accelerating digital
transformation, with enhancements in digital channels driving higher digital
engagement and a remarkable retail Digital MAU y-o-y growth of 54.4% and q-o-q
growth of 23.5%. On a standalone basis, loans were up 31.6% y-o-y and deposits
up 22.3% y-o-y in constant currency as at 31 December 2024. Ameriabank's
standalone FY24 profit, which is not consolidated into Group results, was GEL
416.1m - this better reflects the full-year performance and scale of the
Armenian business.
We remain optimistic about the Armenian growth story. The recent signing of
the Charter on Strategic Partnership between Armenia and the US, ongoing EU
visa liberalisation talks, and the Armenian government's approval of a bill to
initiate its EU accession bid all reinforce the country's positive outlook.
Armenia's real GDP grew by 5.9% in 2024, and with ongoing structural reforms
expected to further enhance the resilience and capacity of the Armenian
economy, the IMF projects real GDP growth of 4.9% in 2025.
Overall, the Group achieved a record consolidated profit (adjusted for one-off
items) of GEL 1.8 billion for the full year 2024, with an adjusted ROAE of
30.0%. In light of the Group's strong performance, the Board intends to
recommend a final dividend of GEL 5.62 per share for 2024 at the 2025 Annual
General Meeting, bringing the total dividend for 2024 to GEL 9.00 per share -
an increase of 12.5% versus 2023. Additionally, the Board has approved a
further share buyback and cancellation programme of GEL 107.7 million. This
brings the overall dividend and share buyback payout ratio for 2024 to 31%,
calculated on adjusted EPS, in line with our capital distribution policy.
2024 was an outstanding year for the Group. Key achievements included the
landmark acquisition of Ameriabank, the successful issuance of a US$
300,000,000 Additional Tier 1 perpetual bond by Bank of Georgia, and Bank of
Georgia being named the World's Best Digital Bank 2024 by Global Finance.
Moving into 2025, we remain focused on driving strong customer franchise
growth and high profitability across our main markets.
Archil Gachechiladze
CEO, Lion Finance Group PLC
24 February 2025
Macroeconomic developments: Georgia
Strong economic growth
Economic activity remained strong in 4Q24 with real GDP increasing by 8.4%
y-o-y, contributing to a full year expansion of 9.5% y-o-y. Economic growth
remained broad-based, with major contributions from the trade, transport, IT
and other service sectors. Galt & Taggart forecasts a 5% real GDP growth
in 2025, albeit with higher-than-usual uncertainty around the base case.
Geopolitical instability in the wider region and domestic political tensions
pose downside risks. However, a swift resolution of the political
uncertainties could lead to better-than-expected economic outcomes.
Resilient external sector
External merchandise trade maintained strong performance in 4Q24, driven by
consistently high levels of re-exports and increased commodity prices. During
the same period, imports of goods accelerated amid strong consumption
spending. Overall, exports and imports increased by 7.8% and 8.5% y-o-y,
respectively, in 2024. Tourism revenues continued to grow steadily, delivering
a 7.3% y-o-y increase in 2024, with annual tourist visits surpassing the
pre-pandemic level for the first time. Proceeds from other service exports,
particularly from transport services, also remained strong. Money transfers
declined by 18.9% y-o-y in 2024 as migrant-related one-off inflows from Russia
during 2023 were eliminated, and were partially substituted by steadily
increasing transfers from the EU, US and Israel. Taken together, external
sector inflows are expected to remain resilient, supported by diverse income
sources and geographical regions.
Low inflation and prudent monetary policy
Inflation remained low in 4Q24, supported by subdued domestic price pressures
and declining fuel prices in international markets. Headline CPI inflation was
1.9% y-o-y in December 2024, below the National Bank of Georgia's (NBG) 3%
target. In 2025, inflation is expected to pick up slightly due to last year's
low base and increased exchange rate volatility, but it is projected to return
to the target level by the end of the year. The NBG has kept its policy rate
at 8.0% since May 2024, as inflationary risks remain.
Strong fiscal discipline
In 2024, Georgia's strong budget performance persisted, with tax revenues
rising 18.0% y-o-y, driven by robust economic growth and the previous year's
amendments to the corporate income tax code. The Government remains committed
to fiscal consolidation, with the fiscal deficit planned at 2.5% of GDP in
2025, matching the 2024 level. The government-debt-to-GDP ratio is set to
decline further to 35.9% in 2025, providing more fiscal space to respond to
potential future shocks.
Healthy bank lending
Bank lending remained robust during 2024, driven by business lending and
increasing by 17.0% y-o-y on a constant currency basis, following a 17.1%
y-o-y growth in the previous year. Loan dollarisation declined further by 1.9
ppts y-o-y to 43.3% at the end of December 2024. However, deposit
dollarisation picked up by 2.0 ppts to 52.8% in the same period due to higher
exchange rate volatility. The banking sector's credit portfolio remained
healthy, with the non-performing loans ratio, according to the IMF, at 1.5% at
the end of December 2024.
Easing pressures on GEL
The GEL faced depreciation pressures in October 2024 amid pre-election
dynamics, with fluctuations continuing in the following months. To support
market stability, the NBG sold a net US$ 438m in 4Q24. Consequently, the
Georgian currency depreciated by only 4.4% against the US dollar over the
course of 2024. Although some volatility persisted in early 2025, the GEL
exchange rate remained close to its beginning-of-year level as at 20 February
2025. Importantly, resilient external sector inflows and prudent macroeconomic
policies are in place to support the value of the GEL in the medium term.
More information on the Georgian economy and financial sector can be found at
Galt & Taggart (https://galtandtaggart.com/en) .
Macroeconomic developments: Armenia
Robust economic growth
Economic growth continued to moderate in 4Q24 as one-off factors, including
migrant inflows and the re-export of precious metals, abated. Meanwhile, a
supportive fiscal stance and easing monetary policy continued to support the
economy. Real GDP increased by 3.7% y-o-y in 4Q24, following a 6.1% rise in
the previous quarter. For the full year 2024, real GDP grew by 5.9%, following
the 8.3% expansion recorded in 2023. The IMF projects real GDP growth of 4.9%
for 2025. Macroeconomic policies remain prudent, underpinning the resilience
of the Armenian economy.
Resilient external sector and strong Dram
External trade turnover fell in 4Q24 due to the effects related to a
transitory surge in re-exports of precious metals and stones in the previous
quarters. As a result, export of goods decreased by 27.1% y-o-y, while imports
declined by 13.0% y-o-y in 4Q24. For the full year of 2024, exports and
imports rose by 53.1% and 33.8%, respectively. Continued overall strength of
external sector inflows and positive growth outlook contributed to the
strengthening of the Armenian Dram by 2.0% versus the US dollar during 2024.
In January 2025, the value of the Armenian currency versus the US dollar
remained broadly stable.
Low inflation and easing monetary policy
In 2024, inflation remained low, supported by a strong Dram, declining food
and commodity prices. Headline CPI inflation was 1.5% y-o-y in December 2024,
below the Central Bank of Armenia's (CBA) 4% target (the target was revised to
3% since January 2025). Amid subdued price pressures, the CBA continued its
gradual monetary easing, cutting the refinancing rate by a cumulative 2.25
ppts to 7.0% in 2024, following a reduction of 1.5 ppts in 2023.
Continued fiscal expansion
In 2024, fiscal policy was expansionary to accommodate spending on refugees
from Nagorno-Karabakh, along with an ambitious pipeline of public
infrastructure projects. In 2025, the fiscal deficit is expected to widen
further to 5.5% of GDP (vs. 4.8% in 2024) leading to an additional rise in
public debt to 55.6% of GDP (vs. 52.3% in 2024). Although the current fiscal
expansion is positive for growth, it may be accompanied by risks, which are
mitigated by demonstrated fiscal discipline and ongoing IMF stand-by
arrangements.
Sound banking sector
The banking sector in Armenia remains highly profitable, with strong capital
and liquidity positions. Estimated bank lending growth in 2024 was 25.0% y-o-y
on a constant currency basis, following a 21.2% y-o-y growth in the previous
year. Lending growth was predominantly driven by local currency loans, leading
to a further reduction in loan dollarisation (down 3 ppts y-o-y to 32.7% at
the end of December 2024).
Delivering on our strategic priorities
The main bank
Being the main bank in customers' daily lives by leveraging the digital and
payments ecosystems across our core markets.
Bank of Georgia (BOG)
In October 2024, JSC Bank of Georgia was recognised as the World's Best
Digital Bank 2024 by Global Finance.
Monthly active customers (Retail) Digital MAU (Retail) Payment MAU (Retail) Share of products sold through retail digital channels (Retail) Monthly active customers (Legal entities) Digital MAU (Legal entities)
2.0 million 1.6 million 1.5 million 62% (4Q24) 116K 94K
+10.7% y-o-y +17.5% y-o-y +16.2% y-o-y -8 ppts y-o-y +18.9% y-o-y +26.2% y-o-y
The share of products sold through retail digital channels stood at 62% in
4Q24, (down 8 ppts y-o-y and up 4 ppts q-o-q). The y-o-y decrease was driven
by the gamification campaign conducted in 4Q23, which significantly boosted
digital sales last year.
Bank of Georgia continued to develop its payments acquiring business. The
volume of payment transactions in BOG's in-store/online POS terminals was up
26.3% y-o-y and 5.9% q-o-q in the fourth quarter of 2024, to GEL 5.6 bn. In
FY24, the volume of payment transactions totalled GEL 19.6bn (up 31.2% y-o-y).
BOG's payments acquiring market share stood at 57.1% in December 2024 (up 2.2
ppts y-o-y).
Ameriabank
Ameriabank had 357,000 monthly active retail customers as at December 2024 (up
22.4% y-o-y and up 14.5% q-o-q), of which Digital MAU was 232,000 (up 54.4%
y-o-y and up 23.5% q-o-q) 1 .
Excellent customer experience
Anticipating customer needs and wants, and providing relevant products and
services.
Bank of Georgia's latest Net Promoter Score (NPS), measured by an external
party in the third quarter of 2024, stood at 67 (59 at the end of 2023).
Ameriabank measures its NPS internally on a monthly basis. The average score
for 2024 was 77 (79% in 2023).
Profitable growth
Growing the balance sheet profitably and focusing on areas with high growth
potential.
· Georgian Financial Services' loan book grew 20.5% y-o-y and 4.9%
q-o-q, amounting to GEL 23,539.3 million as at 31 December 2024. Growth on a
constant currency basis was 19.3% y-o-y and 4.6% q-o-q.
· Armenian Financial Services' loan book grew 16.5% q-o-q (15.5% on
a constant currency basis), amounting to GEL 9,265.0 million as at 31 December
2024.
Our key targets for the medium term are:
· c.15% annual growth of the Group's loan book (the target was
revised up from c.10% following the acquisition of Ameriabank in March 2024)
· 20%+ return on average equity
· 30-50% annual capital distribution ratio (dividends and share
buybacks)
4Q24 and FY24 unaudited consolidated results
Given the first-time consolidation of Ameriabank's P&L in 2Q24, the y-o-y
growth rates at the Group level have been significantly impacted by the
consolidation. To see the underlying performance of our business in Georgia
and Armenia, please see pages 10 to 12 and 13 to 15, respectively.
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q24 4Q24 4Q24 4Q23 4Q23 4Q23 4Q23
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS GROUP GFS AFS OTHER GROUP GFS AFS OTHER
Interest income 1,186,258 879,608 284,685 21,965 744,806 725,981 - 18,825
Interest expense (522,602) (408,847) (104,643) (9,112) (317,145) (313,330) - (3,815)
Net interest income 663,656 470,761 180,042 12,853 427,661 412,651 - 15,010
Net fee and commission income 169,098 126,923 39,781 2,394 114,066 113,455 - 611
Net foreign currency gain 176,350 107,776 50,712 17,862 97,251 86,946 - 10,305
Net other income 22,914 26,030 1,060 (4,176) 18,260 16,931 - 1,329
Operating income 1,032,018 731,490 271,595 28,933 657,238 629,983 - 27,255
Salaries and other employee benefits (231,043) (125,107) (92,590) (13,346) (113,944) (102,615) - (11,329)
Administrative expenses (88,042) (61,018) (20,458) (6,566) (74,428) (69,227) - (5,201)
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (47,299) (31,799) (12,988) (2,512) (35,131) (32,836) - (2,295)
Other operating expenses (4,227) (1,636) (2,150) (441) (1,702) (1,514) - (188)
Operating expenses (370,611) (219,560) (128,186) (22,865) (225,205) (206,192) - (19,013)
Profit from associates 369 369 - - 254 254 - -
Operating income before cost of risk 661,776 512,299 143,409 6,068 432,287 424,045 - 8,242
Cost of risk (49,142) (47,615) (3,533) 2,006 (27,810) (24,077) - (3,733)
Profit before income tax expense 612,634 464,684 139,876 8,074 404,477 399,968 - 4,509
Income tax expense (107,920) (71,415) (31,585) (4,920) (75,891) (73,901) - (1,990)
Profit adjusted for one-off items 504,714 393,269 108,291 3,154 328,586 326,067 - 2,519
One-off items 2,708 - 2,708 - 1,524 1,524 - -
Profit 507,422 393,269 110,999 3,154 330,110 327,591 - 2,519
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q23 Change 3Q24 Change FY24 FY23 Change
y-o-y q-o-q y-o-y
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Net interest income 663,656 427,661 55.2% 641,036 3.5% 2,360,847 1,615,446 46.1%
Net fee and commission income 169,098 114,066 48.2% 134,100 26.1% 561,662 434,482 29.3%
Net foreign currency gain 176,350 97,251 81.3% 153,023 15.2% 571,799 365,711 56.4%
Net other income 22,914 18,260 25.5% 9,501 141.2% 68,320 114,735 -40.5%
Operating income 1,032,018 657,238 57.0% 937,660 10.1% 3,562,628 2,530,374 40.8%
Operating expenses (370,611) (225,205) 64.6% (326,434) 13.5% (1,222,904) (754,053) 62.2%
Profit from associates 369 254 45.3% 502 -26.5% 1,347 1,456 -7.5%
Operating income before cost of risk 661,776 432,287 53.1% 611,728 8.2% 2,341,071 1,777,777 31.7%
Cost of risk (49,142) (27,810) 76.7% (5,216) NMF (165,253) (144,064) 14.7%
Out of which initial ECL related to assets acquired in business - - - - - (49,157) - -
combination
Profit before income tax expense and one-off items 612,634 404,477 51.5% 606,512 1.0% 2,175,818 1,633,713 33.2%
Income tax expense (107,920) (75,891) 42.2% (97,259) 11.0% (362,796) (258,971) 40.1%
Profit adjusted for one-off items 504,714 328,586 53.6% 509,253 -0.9% 1,813,022 1,374,742 31.9%
One-off items 2 2,708 1,524 77.7% - - 672,173 22,585 NMF
Profit 507,422 330,110 53.7% 509,253 -0.4% 2,485,195 1,397,327 77.9%
Basic earnings per share 11.75 7.53 56.0% 11.71 0.3% 56.91 31.30 81.8%
Basic earnings per share (adjusted for one-off items) 11.69 7.49 56.1% 11.71 -0.2% 41.46 30.79 34.7%
Diluted earnings per share 11.51 7.31 57.5% 11.49 0.2% 55.75 30.43 83.2%
Diluted earnings per share (adjusted for one-off items) 11.44 7.27 57.4% 11.49 -0.4% 40.62 29.93 35.7%
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Change Change
Dec-24 Dec-23 y-o-y Sep-24 q-o-q
Liquid assets 16,484,035 9,984,238 65.1% 14,253,652 15.6%
Cash and cash equivalents 3,753,183 3,101,824 21.0% 3,413,286 10.0%
Amounts due from credit institutions 3,278,465 1,752,657 87.1% 2,560,821 28.0%
Investment securities 9,452,387 5,129,757 84.3% 8,279,545 14.2%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables 3 33,558,874 20,232,721 65.9% 31,058,958 8.0%
Property and equipment 550,097 436,955 25.9% 534,234 3.0%
All remaining assets 1,614,882 1,103,644 46.3% 1,518,584 6.3%
Total assets 52,207,888 31,757,558 64.4% 47,365,428 10.2%
Client deposits and notes 33,202,010 20,522,739 61.8% 31,872,416 4.2%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 8,680,233 5,156,009 68.4% 5,701,966 52.2%
Borrowings from DFIs 3,301,249 2,124,264 55.4% 1,899,130 73.8%
Short-term loans from the National Bank of Georgia 2,546,574 2,101,653 21.2% 1,166,526 118.3%
Short-term loans from the Central Bank of Armenia 153,588 - - 164,993 -6.9%
Loans and deposits from commercial banks 2,678,822 930,092 188.0% 2,471,317 8.4%
Debt securities issued 2,255,016 421,359 NMF 2,220,896 1.5%
All remaining liabilities 1,055,402 637,615 65.5% 1,038,608 1.6%
Total liabilities 45,192,661 26,737,722 69.0% 40,833,886 10.7%
Total equity 7,015,227 5,019,836 39.8% 6,531,542 7.4%
Book value per share 162.77 114.62 42.0% 150.46 8.2%
4Q24 4Q23 3Q24 FY24 FY23
KEY RATIOS
ROAA (adjusted for one-off items) 4 4.0% 4.2% 4.4% 4.3% 4.7%
ROAE (adjusted for one-off items) 29.6% 26.7% 32.1% 30.0% 29.9%
Net interest margin(4) 6.0% 6.3% 6.2% 6.3% 6.5%
Loan yield(4) 12.2% 12.4% 12.2% 12.4% 12.5%
Liquid assets yield(4) 4.8% 5.0% 5.1% 5.1% 4.7%
Cost of funds(4) 4.9% 4.9% 4.8% 5.0% 4.7%
Cost of client deposits and notes(4) 4.0% 4.2% 4.0% 4.1% 4.0%
Cost of amounts owed to credit Institutions(4) 7.8% 7.7% 7.7% 7.9% 8.0%
Cost of debt securities issued(4) 7.5% 9.3% 7.4% 8.2% 8.2%
Cost:income ratio (adjusted for one-off items) 35.9% 34.3% 34.8% 34.3% 29.8%
NPLs to gross loans 2.0% 2.3% 1.8% 2.0% 2.3%
NPL coverage ratio 63.0% 69.2% 71.4% 63.0% 69.2%
NPL coverage ratio adjusted for the discounted value of collateral 119.6% 117.6% 124.2% 119.6% 117.6%
Cost of credit risk ratio(4) 0.5% 0.4% 0.2% 0.5% 0.7%
Performance highlights
· The Group generated operating income of GEL 1,032.0m in 4Q24 (up
57.0% y-o-y and up 10.1% q-o-q). In FY24, operating income amounted to GEL
3,562.6m (up 40.8% y-o-y). A significant growth driver in the y-o-y
perspective was the acquisition of Ameriabank. GFS operating income grew by
16.1% and 11.5% y-o-y in 4Q24 and FY24 respectively. See details in the
Business Division discussion on pages 10 to 16.
· The Group's operating expenses amounted to GEL 370.6m in 4Q24 (up
64.6% y-o-y and up 13.5% q-o-q). The y-o-y growth was mainly driven by the
consolidation of Ameriabank. In FY24, operating expenses amounted to GEL
1,222.9m (up 62.2% y-o-y), largely driven by the same reason. Compared with
the prior quarter, growth was driven by both GFS and AFS, with significant
increases in AFS driven by staff costs as well as higher marketing and
consulting expenses.
· The Group posted a one-off item in 4Q24 - a reversal of
Ameriabank-acquisition-related costs in the amount of GEL 2.7m. For FY24,
one-off items included a gain on bargain purchase (the difference between the
fair value of identifiable net assets of Ameriabank acquired and total
purchase consideration) and acquisition-related costs, that together amounted
to GEL 672.2m. Operating income before cost of risk and subsequent lines as
well as ROAE and ROAA were adjusted for these one-offs.
· The Group's profit (adjusted for one-off items) was GEL 504.7m in
4Q24 (up 53.6% y-o-y and down 0.9% q-o-q). The Group's profit (adjusted for
one-off items) was GEL 1,813.0m in FY24 (up 31.9% y-o-y). Return on average
equity (adjusted for one-off items) was 29.6% in 4Q24 (26.7% in 4Q23 and 32.1%
in 3Q24). In FY24, return on average equity (adjusted for one-off items) was
30.0% (29.9% in FY23).
Asset quality
· Loan portfolio quality has remained healthy. Cost of credit risk
ratio was 0.5% in 4Q24 (0.4% in 4Q23 and 0.2% in 3Q24), driven by robust
performances in both the Georgian and Armenian operations. In FY24, cost of
credit risk ratio was 0.5% vs 0.7% in FY23.
· The NPLs to gross loans ratio stood at 2.0% as at 31 December
2024 (down 30 bps y-o-y and up 20 bps q-o-q). The q-o-q increase was driven by
the default of a single corporate borrower at Bank of Georgia, partly offset
by improved NPLs in Ameriabank, as well as in RB and SME at GFS.
GEL thousands, unless otherwise noted Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Sep-24 Change
y-o-y q-o-q
NON-PERFORMING LOANS
Group (consolidated)
NPLs (in GEL thousands) 666,859 467,656 42.6% 564,429 18.1%
NPLs to gross loans 2.0% 2.3% 1.8%
NPL coverage ratio 63.0% 69.2% 71.4%
NPL coverage ratio adjusted for the discounted value of collateral 119.6% 117.6% 124.2%
Georgian Financial Services (GFS)
NPLs to gross loans 2.2% 2.2% 1.9%
NPL coverage ratio 62.1% 68.7% 70.6%
NPL coverage ratio adjusted for the discounted value of collateral 115.1% 117.1% 119.4%
Ameriabank (standalone figures)
NPLs to gross loans 1.4% - 1.6%
NPL coverage ratio 69.1% - 78.4%
NPL coverage ratio adjusted for the discounted value of collateral 137.3% - 136.9%
Portfolio highlights
· Loans to customers, factoring and finance lease receivables
amounted to GEL 33,558.9m as at 31 December 2024, up 65.9% y-o-y and up 8.0%
q-o-q in nominal terms. The significant y-o-y increase is attributable to the
Ameriabank acquisition, as well as a 20.5% loan growth in GFS.
· Client deposits and notes amounted to GEL 33,202.0m as at 31
December 2024 (up 61.8% y-o-y and up 4.2% q-o-q). The y-o-y growth was driven
by the Ameriabank acquisition as well as a 23.1% deposit growth in GFS.
Capital return
· In August 2024, the Board announced a further share buyback and
cancellation programme totalling GEL 73.4 million. The Company completed the
share buyback and cancellation programme in January 2025, cancelling 475,433
shares. There are currently 44,351,550 shares in issue.
· At the 2025 Annual General Meeting, the Board intends to recommend
for shareholder approval a final dividend for 2024 of GEL 5.62 per share
payable in Pounds Sterling at the prevailing rate. This would make a total
dividend in respect of the Group's 2024 earnings of GEL 9.00 per share, a
12.5% increase on 2023.
· In addition, the Board has also approved an extension of the share
buyback and cancellation programme by an additional GEL 107.7 million.
Business Division results
Following the acquisition of Ameriabank in March 2024, the Group results are
presented by the following Business Divisions: 1) Georgian Financial Services
(GFS), 2) Armenian Financial Services (AFS), and 3) Other Businesses.
Georgian Financial Services (GFS)
Georgian Financial Services (GFS) mainly comprises JSC Bank of Georgia and
investment bank JSC Galt and Taggart.
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q23 Change 3Q24 Change FY24 FY23 Change
y-o-y q-o-q y-o-y
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Interest income 879,608 725,981 21.2% 837,908 5.0% 3,261,442 2,677,362 21.8%
Interest expense (408,847) (313,330) 30.5% (371,324) 10.1% (1,463,591) (1,116,859) 31.0%
Net interest income 470,761 412,651 14.1% 466,584 0.9% 1,797,851 1,560,503 15.2%
Net fee and commission income 126,923 113,455 11.9% 110,887 14.5% 465,614 428,345 8.7%
Net foreign currency gain 107,776 86,946 24.0% 98,214 9.7% 386,797 323,136 19.7%
Net other income 26,030 16,931 53.7% 7,919 NMF 53,428 111,870 -52.2%
Operating income 731,490 629,983 16.1% 683,604 7.0% 2,703,690 2,423,854 11.5%
Salaries and other employee benefits (125,107) (102,615) 21.9% (111,225) 12.5% (443,347) (375,345) 18.1%
Administrative expenses (61,018) (69,227) -11.9% (52,013) 17.3% (204,383) (181,535) 12.6%
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (31,799) (32,836) -3.2% (31,446) 1.1% (121,983) (114,279) 6.7%
Other operating expenses (1,636) (1,514) 8.1% (1,245) 31.4% (5,744) (3,461) 66.0%
Operating expenses (219,560) (206,192) 6.5% (195,929) 12.1% (775,457) (674,620) 14.9%
Profit from associates 369 254 45.3% 389 -5.1% 1,347 984 36.9%
Operating income before cost of risk 512,299 424,045 20.8% 488,064 5.0% 1,929,580 1,750,218 10.2%
Cost of risk (47,615) (24,077) 97.8% (2,391) NMF (98,099) (146,155) -32.9%
Profit before income tax expense 464,684 399,968 16.2% 485,673 -4.3% 1,831,481 1,604,063 14.2%
Income tax expense (71,415) (73,901) -3.4% (74,259) -3.8% (275,557) (250,496) 10.0%
Profit adjusted for one-off items 393,269 326,067 20.6% 411,414 -4.4% 1,555,924 1,353,567 14.9%
One-off items - 1,524 NMF - - - 22,585 NMF
Profit 393,269 327,591 20.0% 411,414 -4.4% 1,555,924 1,376,152 13.1%
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Sep-24 Change
y-o-y q-o-q
Cash and cash equivalents 1,832,228 2,714,174 -32.5% 2,059,303 -11.0%
Amounts due from credit institutions 2,423,723 1,733,898 39.8% 1,797,054 34.9%
Investment securities 7,886,960 5,052,494 56.1% 7,048,177 11.9%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables 23,539,328 19,532,803 20.5% 22,444,065 4.9%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables, LC 13,580,484 10,838,243 25.3% 12,819,317 5.9%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables, FC 9,958,844 8,694,560 14.5% 9,624,748 3.5%
Property and equipment 462,037 425,456 8.6% 443,849 4.1%
All remaining assets 1,170,001 1,027,901 13.8% 1,111,214 5.3%
Total assets 37,314,277 30,486,726 22.4% 34,903,662 6.9%
Client deposits and notes 24,052,164 19,535,071 23.1% 24,079,718 -0.1%
Client deposits and notes, LC 11,355,443 8,889,946 27.7% 11,999,849 -5.4%
Client deposits and notes, FC 12,696,721 10,645,125 19.3% 12,079,869 5.1%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 6,712,420 5,125,760 31.0% 4,743,875 41.5%
Debt securities issued 1,082,831 414,549 161.2% 1,067,012 1.5%
All remaining liabilities 475,032 598,310 -20.6% 423,262 12.2%
Total liabilities 32,322,447 25,673,690 25.9% 30,313,867 6.6%
Total equity 4,991,830 4,813,036 3.7% 4,589,795 8.8%
Risk-weighted assets (Bank of Georgia) 29,080,593 23,061,905 26.1% 26,635,323 9.2%
KEY RATIOS 4Q24 4Q23 3Q24 FY24 FY23
ROAA (adjusted for one-off items) 4.3% 4.3% 4.8% 4.7% 4.9%
ROAA (unadjusted) 4.3% 4.3% 4.8% 4.7% 4.9%
ROAE (adjusted for one-off items) 32.5% 27.8% 36.7% 33.5% 30.9%
ROAE (unadjusted) 32.5% 27.9% 36.7% 33.5% 31.5%
Net interest margin 5.8% 6.3% 6.1% 6.0% 6.4%
Loan yield 12.5% 12.5% 12.4% 12.5% 12.6%
Loan yield, LC 15.0% 15.3% 14.9% 15.0% 15.6%
Loan yield, FC 9.0% 8.9% 9.2% 9.3% 8.8%
Cost of funds 5.2% 5.0% 5.1% 5.2% 4.9%
Cost of client deposits and notes 4.3% 4.4% 4.3% 4.4% 4.2%
Cost of client deposits and notes, LC 7.6% 8.3% 7.6% 7.8% 8.4%
Cost of client deposits and notes, FC 1.3% 0.8% 1.2% 1.2% 0.6%
Cost of time deposits 6.6% 6.7% 6.7% 6.8% 6.5%
Cost of time deposits, LC 10.0% 10.7% 10.2% 10.6% 10.8%
Cost of time deposits, FC 2.5% 2.0% 1.9% 2.3% 1.7%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits 2.3% 2.6% 2.3% 2.3% 2.5%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits, LC 4.7% 5.9% 4.9% 4.9% 6.0%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits, FC 0.6% 0.2% 0.4% 0.0% 0.1%
Cost:income ratio (adjusted for one-off items) 30.0% 32.7% 28.7% 28.7% 27.8%
Cost:income ratio (unadjusted) 30.0% 32.7% 28.7% 28.7% 27.6%
Cost of credit risk ratio 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% 0.4% 0.7%
Performance highlights
· GFS generated operating income of GEL 731.5m in 4Q24 (up 16.1%
y-o-y and up 7.0% q-o-q). The y-o-y and q-o-q growth was recorded in each key
revenue line. In FY24, operating income amounted to GEL 2,703.7m (up 11.5%
y-o-y). Notably, in 2023 the Group posted two significant income items - a GEL
68.7m gain on the sale of repossessed assets and a GEL 25.0m net positive
adjustment in net fee and commission income due to changes in the accounting
model for payment systems. Excluding these effects, the FY24 y-o-y growth
would have been 16.0%.
· The net interest margin decreased during the quarter and stood at
5.8% in 4Q24 (down 50 bps y-o-y and down 30 bps q-o-q). While the core loan
NIM was unchanged during the quarter, the overall NIM was depressed due to
lower market rates and increased liquidity during the quarter. For the full
year of 2024, NIM stood at 6.0% (down 40 bps y-o-y), mainly driven by a
combination of higher cost of funds of 5.2% (up 30 bps y-o-y) and lower loan
yield of 12.5% (down 10 bps y-o-y).
· Net fee and commission income amounted to GEL 126.9m in 4Q24 (up
11.9% y-o-y and up 14.5% q-o-q). The y-o-y and q-o-q growth was mainly driven
by settlement operations and supported by strong results by Galt &
Taggart's brokerage and advisory divisions. For FY24, net fee and commission
income was GEL 465.6m (up 8.7% y-o-y). Notably, in 2023, the Group amended the
accounting model for payment systems charges, that resulted in a positive net
effect of GEL 25.0m. Excluding this effect, the FY24 y-o-y growth would have
been 15.4%.
· Net other income increased to GEL 26.0m in 4Q24 (up 53.7% y-o-y
and up 228.7% q-o-q), mainly driven by a revaluation gain on investment
properties. For FY24, net other income was GEL 53.4m (down 52.2% y-o-y) - the
decrease was driven by significant net gains on the sale of repossessed assets
in 2023.
· Operating expenses amounted to GEL 219.6m in 4Q24 (up 6.5% y-o-y
and up 12.1% q-o-q). The y-o-y growth was mainly driven by increased salaries
and employee benefits, partly offset by decreased administrative expenses. The
q-o-q growth was driven by increased salaries and employee benefits, primarily
due to higher bonuses resulting from strong business performance, as well as
seasonally high administrative expenses in the fourth quarter. In FY24,
operating expenses increased by 14.9% y-o-y to GEL 775.5m. The y-o-y growth in
operating expenses in FY24 was mainly driven by increased salaries and other
employee benefits, together with higher administrative expenses related to
business growth and continuing investments in key strategic areas.
· Cost of credit risk ratio was 0.6% in 4Q24 (0.4% in 4Q23 and 0.1% in
3Q24). The cost of credit risk was mainly driven by the default of a single
corporate borrower, partly offset by strong results across the whole
portfolio. In FY24, cost of credit risk ratio stood at 0.4% vs 0.7% in FY23.
· Overall, GFS posted a profit of GEL 393.3m in 4Q24 (up 20.6% y-o-y
and down 4.4% q-o-q on higher cost of risk charge for the quarter). In FY24,
profit amounted to GEL 1,555.9m (up 14.9% y-o-y compared with adjusted profit
in FY23).
Portfolio highlights
From 1Q24 the Corporate Center was separated as a new segment of GFS. The
Corporate Center mainly includes treasury and custody operations. Previously,
the Corporate Center's income and expenses were allocated to the Retail
Banking (RB), Small and medium enterprise Banking (SME), and Corporate and
Investment Banking (CIB) segments. The previous figures for the RB, SME, and
CIB segments have been restated.
Portfolio highlights: Loans to customers, factoring and finance lease
receivables
Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Change y-o-y (constant currency) Sep-24 Change Change q-o-q (constant currency)
y-o-y q-o-q
Total GFS 23,539,328 19,532,803 20.5% 19.3% 22,444,065 4.9% 4.6%
Retail 10,203,425 8,502,529 20.0% 19.5% 9,725,127 4.9% 4.9%
SME 5,011,108 4,550,840 10.1% 9.3% 4,900,686 2.3% 2.3%
CIB 8,324,795 6,479,434 28.5% 26.3% 7,818,252 6.5% 5.8%
Corporate Center - - - - - - -
Portfolio highlights: client deposits and notes
Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Change y-o-y (constant currency) Sep-24 Change Change q-o-q (constant currency)
y-o-y q-o-q
Total GFS 24,052,164 19,535,071 23.1% 21.2% 24,079,718 -0.1% -0.8%
Retail 14,422,359 12,597,938 14.5% 12.2% 13,816,179 4.4% 3.5%
SME 2,146,585 1,876,967 14.4% 13.2% 2,083,761 3.0% 2.7%
CIB 6,578,858 5,030,564 30.8% 29.3% 6,324,426 4.0% 3.5%
Corporate Center 971,961 218,872 NMF NMF 1,920,096 -49.4% -49.4%
Eliminations (67,599) (189,270) -64.3% (64,744) 4.4%
Loan portfolio quality: cost of credit risk ratio
4Q24 4Q23 3Q24
Total GFS 0.6% 0.4% 0.1%
Retail 0.5% -0.1% 0.1%
SME -0.4% 0.6% 0.3%
CIB 1.3% 1.0% 0.0%
Loan portfolio quality: NPL ratio
Dec-24 Dec-23 Sep-24
Total GFS 2.2% 2.2% 1.9%
Retail 1.6% 1.9% 1.7%
SME 3.5% 3.6% 3.6%
CIB 2.1% 1.7% 1.1%
· GFS's loans to customers, factoring and finance lease receivables
stood at GEL 23,539.3m (up 20.5% y-o-y and up 4.9% q-o-q) as at 31 December
2024. The y-o-y and q-o-q growth was mainly driven by CIB, followed by RB and
SME. On a constant currency basis, the loan book increased by 19.3% y-o-y and
by 4.6% q-o-q.
· 57.7% of the loan book was denominated in GEL as at 31 December
2024 (55.5% as at 31 December 2023 and 57.1% as at 30 September 2024).
· Client deposits and notes stood at GEL 24,052.2m as at 31
December 2024 (up 23.1% y-o-y and down -0.1% q-o-q). Strong y-o-y growth was
recorded in CIB, followed by RB and SME segments. The q-o-q decrease was
driven by the halving of the portfolio of the Corporate Center as deposits
from the Ministry of Finance of Georgia were substituted by short-term loans
from the National Bank of Georgia, partly offset by increases in RB, CIB, and
SME segments. On a constant currency basis, deposits increased by 21.2% y-o-y
and decreased by 0.8% q-o-q.
· The share of GEL-denominated client deposits stood at 47.2% as at
31 December 2024 (45.5% as at 31 December 2023 and 49.8% as at 30 September
2024).
Liquidity
Dec-24 Dec-23 Sep-24
NBG Liquidity Coverage Ratio (Bank of Georgia) 138.6% 125.2% 126.3%
NBG Net Stable Funding Ratio (Bank of Georgia) 130.7% 130.4% 124.9%
· Bank of Georgia increased its liquidity position during the
quarter, with NBG liquidity coverage ratio standing at 138.6% as at 31
December 2024 (125.2% as at 31 December 2023 and 126.3% as at 30 September
2024), and NBG net stable funding ratio at 130.7% as at 31 December 2024
(130.4% as at 31 December 2023 and 124.9% as at 30 September 2024).
Capital position
· Bank of Georgia continues to operate with robust capital adequacy
levels. At 31 December 2024, the Bank's Basel III CET1, Tier1, and Total
capital ratios stood at 17.1%, 20.5%, and 22.1%, respectively, all comfortably
above the minimum requirements of 14.9%, 17.0%, 19.9%, respectively. The
movement in capital adequacy ratios in 4Q24 and the potential impact of a 10%
devaluation of GEL is as follows:
30 Sep 2024 4Q24 Business growth Currency impact Capital distribution Tier 1 - Tier 2 31 Dec Buffer above min requirement Potential impact
profit 2024 of a 10% GEL devaluation
CET1 capital adequacy 17.2% 1.4% -1.5% -0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 17.1% 2.2% -0.8%
Tier1 capital adequacy 20.8% 1.4% -1.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 20.5% 3.5% -0.7%
Total capital adequacy 23.3% 1.4% -1.9% 0.1% 0.0% -0.8% 22.1% 2.2% -0.6%
· Bank of Georgia's minimum capital requirements for December 2025
are expected to be 15.2%, 17.3% and 20.2% for CET1, Tier1, and Total capital
ratios respectively.
Armenian Financial Services (AFS)
Armenian Financial Services (AFS) comprises Ameriabank CJSC
GEL thousands 4Q24 3Q24 Change YTD since consolidation
q-o-q
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Interest income 284,685 256,769 10.9% 794,616
Interest expense (104,643) (95,163) 10.0% (287,585)
Net interest income 180,042 161,606 11.4% 507,031
Net fee and commission income 39,781 21,104 88.5% 89,922
Net foreign currency gain 50,712 38,744 30.9% 128,032
Net other income 1,060 1,804 -41.2% 3,927
Operating income 271,595 223,258 21.7% 728,912
Salaries and other employee benefits (92,590) (80,604) 14.9% (268,547)
Administrative expenses (20,458) (13,829) 47.9% (47,737)
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (12,988) (13,212) -1.7% (40,818)
Other operating expenses (2,150) (1,574) 36.6% (5,400)
Operating expenses (128,186) (109,219) 17.4% (362,502)
Profit from associates - - - -
Operating income before cost of risk 143,409 114,039 25.8% 366,410
Cost of risk (3,533) (3,558) -0.7% (63,182)
Profit before income tax expense 139,876 110,481 26.6% 303,228
Income tax expense (31,585) (19,078) 65.6% (73,072)
Profit adjusted for one-off items 108,291 91,403 18.5% 230,156
One-off items 2,708 - - 672,173
Profit 110,999 91,403 21.4% 902,329
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Dec-24 Sep-24 Change
q-o-q
Cash and cash equivalents 1,409,223 916,969 53.7%
Amounts due from credit institutions 821,779 732,424 12.2%
Investment securities 1,447,558 1,041,356 39.0%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables 9,265,005 7,955,714 16.5%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables, LC 5,457,699 4,702,686 16.1%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables, FC 3,807,306 3,253,028 17.0%
Property and equipment 74,671 78,116 -4.4%
All remaining assets 352,476 317,741 10.9%
Total assets 13,370,712 11,042,320 21.1%
Client deposits and notes 7,949,083 6,854,363 16.0%
Client deposits and notes, LC 4,527,568 3,672,842 23.3%
Client deposits and notes, FC 3,421,515 3,181,521 7.5%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 1,956,445 962,149 103.3%
Debt securities issued 1,155,679 1,150,771 0.4%
All remaining liabilities 541,068 424,619 27.4%
Total liabilities 11,602,275 9,391,902 23.5%
Total equity 1,768,437 1,650,418 7.2%
KEY RATIOS 4Q24 3Q24 YTD since consolidation
ROAA (adjusted for one-off items) 3.6% 3.3% 2.9%
ROAA (unadjusted) 3.7% 3.3% 11.4%
ROAE (adjusted for one-off items) 25.3% 23.1% 20.6%
ROAE (unadjusted) 26.0% 23.1% 80.7%
Net interest margin 6.8% 6.7% 7.3%
Loan yield 11.6% 11.5% 12.5%
Loan yield, LC 13.9% 13.9% 15.0%
Loan yield, FC 8.5% 8.1% 8.9%
Cost of funds 4.2% 4.2% 4.4%
Cost of client deposits and notes 3.3% 3.2% 3.3%
Cost of client deposits and notes, LC 4.9% 4.8% 5.1%
Cost of client deposits and notes, FC 1.4% 1.4% 1.5%
Cost of time deposits 6.1% 5.8% 6.0%
Cost of time deposits, LC 9.5% 9.6% 10.0%
Cost of time deposits, FC 2.5% 2.4% 2.5%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits 1.5% 1.5% 1.6%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits, LC 2.1% 2.2% 2.3%
Cost of current accounts and demand deposits, FC 0.7% 0.7% 0.0%
Cost:income ratio 47.2% 48.9% 49.7%
Cost of credit risk ratio 0.3% 0.3% 1.2%
Ameriabank was consolidated for the first time at the end of March 2024. In
2Q24 AFS Income Statement results were consolidated on the Group level for the
first time. In addition, to provide more comparable growth trends with
previous periods, the performance of standalone Ameriabank has been disclosed
on page 15: Ameriabank: standalone financial information. Ameriabank's
standalone financial information is presented for informational purposes only,
is different from AFS results due to fair value adjustments and allocation of
certain Group expenses to Business Divisions, and is not included in the
consolidated results.
Performance highlights
· In 4Q24 operating income amounted to GEL 271.6m (up 21.7% q-o-q),
mainly driven by increased net fee and commission income, also supported by a
11.4% q-o-q growth of net interest income and a 30.9% q-o-q growth of net
foreign currency gain.
o A very strong 88.5% q-o-q growth in net fee and commission income was
mainly driven by a significant advisory fee of GEL c.10.3m and a GEL c.5.6m
incentive fee from payment systems.
· Operating expenses increased by 17.4% q-o-q to GEL 128.2m, mainly
driven by increased salaries and other employee benefits due to increased
accrued bonuses because of high performance of Ameriabank, and higher
administrative expenses, mainly driven by intensive marketing campaigns as
well as increased consulting services in IT.
· Loan portfolio quality remained healthy, with cost of credit risk
ratio at 0.3% in 4Q24.
· Overall, AFS generated GEL 108.3m in adjusted profit in 4Q24,
with adjusted ROAE standing at 25.3%. Since consolidation at the end of March
2024, AFS recorded an adjusted profit of GEL 230.2m. The standalone profit of
Ameriabank for the full year 2024 was GEL 416.1m. This figure better reflects
the underlying performance and scale of the Armenian business.
Portfolio highlights
· Loans to customers, factoring and finance lease receivables stood
at GEL 9,265.0m as at 31 December 2024 (up 16.5% q-o-q). The q-o-q growth was
driven by both Corporate and Retail divisions. Growth on a constant currency
basis was 15.5% q-o-q. 58.9% of the loan book was denominated in Armenian
Drams as at 31 December 2024 (59.1% as at 30 September 2024).
· Ameriabank had the highest market share in Armenia by total loans
- 20.9% as at 31 December 2024 (19.6% as at 31 December 2023 and 19.6% as at
30 September 2024) 5 .
· Client deposits and notes stood at GEL 7,949.1m as at 31 December
2024 (up 16.0% q-o-q). On a constant currency basis, deposits were up 15.0%
q-o-q. 57.0% of client deposits and notes were denominated in Armenian Drams
as at 30 December 2024 (53.6% as at 30 September 2024).
· Ameriabank had the second highest market share by total deposits
in Armenia - 18.5% as at 31 December 2024 (17.3% as at 31 December 2023 and
17.8% as at 30 September 2024)(5,) 6 .
Liquidity
· Ameriabank has maintained a strong liquidity position, having CBA
LCR of 195.7% and CBA NSFR of 128.8% as at 31 December 2024, well above the
minimum regulatory requirements of 100%.
Capital position
· At 31 December 2024, Ameriabank's CET1, Tier1, and Total capital
ratios stood at 14.4%, 14.4%, and 16.6%, respectively, all above the minimum
requirements of 11.7%, 13.8%, 16.5%, respectively.
· The decrease of capital adequacy ratios during the quarter was
driven by strong loan growth coupled with the devaluation of AMD in December
2024. Notably, as at 31 January 2025, the buffer on total capital ratio
increased to 0.4%. Internal capital generation as well as other measures
including additional capital instruments are expected to support healthy
capital levels in the near future.
30 Sep 2024 4Q24 Business growth Currency impact Regulatory deductions Other 31 Dec Buffer above min requirement Potential impact
profit 2024 of a 10% AMD devaluation
CET1 capital adequacy 15.0% 1.1% -1.5% -0.1% -0.2% 0.0% 14.4% 2.7% -0.7%
Tier1 capital adequacy 15.0% 1.1% -1.5% -0.1% -0.2% 0.0% 14.4% 0.6% -0.7%
Total capital adequacy 17.4% 1.1% -1.6% -0.1% -0.2% -0.1% 16.6% 0.1% -0.7%
Ameriabank: unaudited standalone financial information (not included in the consolidated results)
The following table is presented for information purposes only to show the
performance of Ameriabank. It has been prepared consistently with the
accounting policies adopted by the Group in preparing its consolidated
financial statements.
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q23 Change 3Q24 Change FY24 FY23 Change
y-o-y q-o-q y-o-y
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Interest income 282,463 214,716 31.6% 252,723 11.8% 992,762 767,428 29.4%
Interest expense (101,267) (74,101) 36.7% (91,178) 11.1% (354,468) (274,607) 29.1%
Net interest income 181,196 140,615 28.9% 161,545 12.2% 638,294 492,821 29.5%
Net fee and commission income 39,547 16,872 134.4% 21,342 85.3% 108,282 65,441 65.5%
Net foreign currency gain 52,959 46,512 13.9% 36,247 46.1% 162,184 158,409 2.4%
Net other income 897 2,428 -63.1% 1,795 -50.0% 5,423 7,477 -27.5%
Operating income 274,599 206,427 33.0% 220,929 24.3% 914,183 724,148 26.2%
Salaries and other employee benefits (78,944) (62,352) 26.6% (67,366) 17.2% (290,364) (217,592) 33.4%
Administrative expenses (19,864) (17,789) 11.7% (13,509) 47.0% (59,212) (52,169) 13.5%
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (9,825) (7,436) 32.1% (9,211) 6.7% (35,831) (28,657) 25.0%
Other operating expenses (2,066) (715) 189.0% (1,572) 31.4% (6,421) (4,580) 40.2%
Operating expenses (110,699) (88,292) 25.4% (91,658) 20.8% (391,828) (302,998) 29.3%
Profit from associates - - - - - - - -
Operating income before cost of risk 163,900 118,135 38.7% 129,271 26.8% 522,355 421,150 24.0%
Cost of risk (2,344) (16,811) -86.1% (6,716) -65.1% (9,842) (37,214) -73.6%
Net operating income before non-recurring items 161,556 101,324 59.4% 122,555 31.8% 512,513 383,936 33.5%
Net non-recurring items - - - - - - - -
Profit before income tax expense 161,556 101,324 59.4% 122,555 31.8% 512,513 383,936 33.5%
Income tax expense (32,327) (22,918) 41.1% (22,292) 45.0% (96,383) (75,425) 27.8%
Profit 129,229 78,406 64.8% 100,263 28.9% 416,130 308,511 34.9%
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Sep-24 Change
y-o-y q-o-q
Liquid assets 3,678,577 2,517,735 46.1% 2,690,749 36.7%
Cash and cash equivalents 1,409,223 886,111 59.0% 916,969 53.7%
Amounts due from credit institutions 821,795 714,963 14.9% 732,424 12.2%
Investment securities 1,447,559 916,661 57.9% 1,041,356 39.0%
Loans to customers and finance lease and factoring receivables 9,278,814 6,551,322 41.6% 7,970,091 16.4%
Property and equipment 66,857 60,247 11.0% 68,345 -2.2%
All remaining assets 310,311 248,358 24.9% 256,631 20.9%
Total assets 13,334,559 9,377,662 42.2% 10,985,816 21.4%
Client deposits and notes 7,949,083 6,039,076 31.6% 6,854,363 16.0%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 1,966,451 904,645 117.4% 972,890 102.1%
Debt securities issued 1,155,679 785,491 47.1% 1,150,771 0.4%
All remaining liabilities 447,950 345,916 29.5% 328,840 36.2%
Total liabilities 11,519,163 8,075,128 42.6% 9,306,864 23.8%
Total equity 1,815,396 1,302,534 39.4% 1,678,952 8.1%
KEY RATIOS 7 4Q24 4Q23 3Q24 FY24 FY23
ROAA 4.2% 3.4% 3.6% 3.8% 3.5%
ROAE 29.4% 24.1% 24.2% 26.5% 25.5%
Loan yield 11.4% 11.7% 11.2% 11.2% 11.2%
Net interest margin 6.8% 7.0% 6.6% 6.7% 6.4%
Cost of funds 4.0% 3.8% 4.0% 3.9% 3.7%
Cost:income ratio 40.3% 42.8% 41.5% 42.9% 41.8%
Cost of credit risk ratio 0.2% 0.9% 0.4% 0.2% 0.6%
Other Businesses
The Business Division 'Other Businesses' includes JSC Belarusky Narodny Bank
(BNB) serving retail and SME clients in Belarus, JSC Digital Area - a digital
ecosystem in Georgia including e-commerce, ticketing, and inventory management
SaaS, Lion Finance Group PLC - the holding company, and other small entities
and intragroup eliminations.
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q23 Change 3Q24 Change FY24 FY23 Change
y-o-y q-o-q y-o-y
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Interest income 21,965 18,825 16.7% 20,771 5.7% 83,842 70,899 18.3%
Interest expense (9,112) (3,815) 138.8% (7,925) 15.0% (27,877) (15,956) 74.7%
Net interest income 12,853 15,010 -14.4% 12,846 0.1% 55,965 54,943 1.9%
Net fee and commission income 2,394 611 NMF 2,109 13.5% 6,126 6,137 -0.2%
Net foreign currency gain 17,862 10,305 73.3% 16,065 11.2% 56,970 42,575 33.8%
Net other income (4,176) 1,329 NMF (222) NMF 10,965 2,865 NMF
Operating income 28,933 27,255 6.2% 30,798 -6.1% 130,026 106,520 22.1%
Salaries and other employee benefits (13,346) (11,329) 17.8% (11,655) 14.5% (46,096) (44,109) 4.5%
Administrative expenses (6,566) (5,201) 26.2% (6,686) -1.8% (27,077) (23,833) 13.6%
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (2,512) (2,295) 9.5% (2,627) -4.4% (10,336) (10,444) -1.0%
Other operating expenses (441) (188) 134.6% (318) 38.7% (1,436) (1,047) 37.2%
Operating expenses (22,865) (19,013) 20.3% (21,286) 7.4% (84,945) (79,433) 6.9%
Profit from associates - - - 113 - 472
NMF NMF
Operating income before cost of risk 6,068 8,242 -26.4% 9,625 -37.0% 45,081 27,559 63.6%
Cost of risk 2,006 (3,733) NMF 733 173.7% (3,972) 2,091 NMF
Profit before income tax expense 8,074 4,509 79.1% 10,358 -22.1% 41,109 29,650 38.6%
Income tax expense (4,920) (1,990) 147.2% (3,922) 25.4% (14,167) (8,475) 67.2%
Profit 3,154 2,519 25.2% 6,436 -51.0% 26,942 21,175 27.2%
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Sep-24 Change
y-o-y q-o-q
Cash and cash equivalents 511,732 387,650 32.0% 437,014 17.1%
Amounts due from credit institutions 32,963 18,759 75.7% 31,343 5.2%
Investment securities 117,869 77,263 52.6% 190,012 -38.0%
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables 754,541 699,918 7.8% 659,179 14.5%
Property and equipment 13,389 11,499 16.4% 12,269 9.1%
All remaining assets 92,405 75,743 22.0% 89,629 3.1%
Total assets 1,522,899 1,270,832 19.8% 1,419,446 7.3%
Client deposits and notes 1,200,763 987,668 21.6% 938,335 28.0%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 11,368 30,249 -62.4% (4,058) NMF
Debt securities issued 16,506 6,810 142.4% 3,113 NMF
All remaining liabilities 39,302 39,305 0.0% 190,727 -79.4%
Total liabilities 1,267,939 1,064,032 19.2% 1,128,117 12.4%
Total equity 254,960 206,800 23.3% 291,329 -12.5%
In 4Q24 Other Businesses recorded a GEL 3.2m profit (up 25.2% y-o-y and down
51.0% q-o-q). In FY24, Other Businesses posted a profit of a GEL 26.9m (up
27.2% y-o-y).
BNB's capital ratios, calculated in accordance with the National Bank of the
Republic of Belarus' standards, were above the minimum requirements as at 31
December 2024: Tier1 capital adequacy ratio at 10.7% (minimum requirement of
7.0%) and Total capital adequacy ratio at 17.2% (minimum requirement of
12.5%).
Unaudited consolidated financial information
GEL thousands 4Q24 4Q23 Change 3Q24 Change FY24 FY23 Change
y-o-y q-o-q y-o-y
INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Interest income 1,186,258 744,806 59.3% 1,115,448 6.3% 4,139,900 2,748,261 50.6%
Interest expense (522,602) (317,145) 64.8% (474,412) 10.2% (1,779,053) (1,132,815) 57.0%
Net interest income 663,656 427,661 55.2% 641,036 3.5% 2,360,847 1,615,446 46.1%
Fee and commission income 277,667 185,957 49.3% 237,407 17.0% 937,777 707,765 32.5%
Fee and commission expense (108,569) (71,891) 51.0% (103,307) 5.1% (376,115) (273,283) 37.6%
Net fee and commission income 169,098 114,066 48.2% 134,100 26.1% 561,662 434,482 29.3%
Net foreign currency gain 176,350 97,251 81.3% 153,023 15.2% 571,799 365,711 56.4%
Net other income without one-offs 22,914 18,260 25.5% 9,501 141.2% 68,320 114,735 -40.5%
One-off other income - 1,524 - - - 22,585
NMF NMF
Net other income 22,914 19,784 15.8% 9,501 141.2% 68,320 137,320 -50.2%
Operating income 1,032,018 658,762 56.7% 937,660 10.1% 3,562,628 2,552,959 39.5%
Salaries and other employee benefits (231,043) (113,944) 102.8% (203,484) 13.5% (757,990) (419,454) 80.7%
Administrative expenses (88,042) (74,428) 18.3% (72,528) 21.4% (279,197) (205,368) 35.9%
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (47,299) (35,131) 34.6% (47,285) 0.0% (173,137) (124,723) 38.8%
Other operating expenses (4,227) (1,702) 148.4% (3,137) 34.7% (12,580) (4,508) 179.1%
Operating expenses (370,611) (225,205) 64.6% (326,434) 13.5% (1,222,904) (754,053) 62.2%
Gain on bargain purchase - - - - - 685,888 - -
Acquisition related costs 2,708 - - - - (13,715) - -
Profit from associates 369 254 45.3% 502 -26.5% 1,347 1,456 -7.5%
Operating income before cost of risk 664,484 433,811 53.2% 611,728 8.6% 3,013,244 1,800,362 67.4%
Expected credit loss on loans to customers and factoring receivables (38,220) (18,546) 106.1% (12,363) NMF (147,399) (124,298) 18.6%
Expected credit loss on finance lease receivables (125) (1,513) -91.7% 428 NMF (1,409) (2,762) -49.0%
Other expected credit loss and impairment charge on other assets and (10,797) (7,751) 39.3% 6,719 NMF (16,445) (17,004) -3.3%
provisions
Cost of risk (49,142) (27,810) 76.7% (5,216) NMF (165,253) (144,064) 14.7%
Profit before income tax expense 615,342 406,001 51.6% 606,512 1.5% 2,847,991 1,656,298 71.9%
Income tax expense (107,920) (75,891) 42.2% (97,259) 11.0% (362,796) (258,971) 40.1%
Profit 507,422 330,110 53.7% 509,253 -0.4% 2,485,195 1,397,327 77.9%
Attributable to:
- shareholders of the Group 505,492 328,623 53.8% 507,272 -0.4% 2,476,943 1,391,277 78.0%
- non-controlling interests 1,930 1,487 29.8% 1,981 -2.6% 8,252 6,050 36.4%
Basic earnings per share 11.75 7.53 56.0% 11.71 0.3% 56.91 31.30 81.8%
Diluted earnings per share 11.51 7.31 57.5% 11.49 0.2% 55.75 30.43 83.2%
BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS Dec-24 Dec-23 Change Sep-24 Change
y-o-y q-o-q
Cash and cash equivalents 3,753,183 3,101,824 21.0% 3,413,286 10.0%
Amounts due from credit institutions 3,278,465 1,752,657 87.1% 2,560,821 28.0%
Investment securities 8,968,721 5,129,757 74.8% 8,054,364 11.4%
Investment securities pledged under sale and repurchase agreements and 483,666 - - 225,181 114.8%
securities lending
Loans to customers, finance lease and factoring receivables 33,558,874 20,232,721 65.9% 31,058,958 8.0%
Accounts receivable and other loans 8,811 47,562 -81.5% 7,193 22.5%
Prepayments 88,950 37,511 137.1% 119,292 -25.4%
Foreclosed assets 378,642 271,712 39.4% 324,558 16.7%
Right-of-use assets 257,896 138,695 85.9% 239,299 7.8%
Investment properties 134,338 124,068 8.3% 112,400 19.5%
Property and equipment 550,097 436,955 25.9% 534,234 3.0%
Goodwill 41,253 41,253 0.0% 41,253 0.0%
Intangible assets 322,250 167,862 92.0% 301,086 7.0%
Income tax assets 48,114 2,520 NMF 43,523 10.5%
Other assets 314,620 245,072 28.4% 277,803 13.3%
Assets held for sale 20,008 27,389 -26.9% 52,177 -61.7%
Total assets 52,207,888 31,757,558 64.4% 47,365,428 10.2%
Client deposits and notes 33,202,010 20,522,739 61.8% 31,872,416 4.2%
Amounts owed to credit institutions 8,680,233 5,156,009 68.4% 5,701,966 52.2%
Debt securities issued 2,255,016 421,359 NMF 2,220,896 1.5%
Lease liability 274,435 141,934 93.4% 249,929 9.8%
Accruals and deferred income 338,734 129,355 161.9% 249,187 35.9%
Income tax liabilities 88,431 199,058 -55.6% 68,504 29.1%
Other liabilities 353,802 167,268 111.5% 470,988 -24.9%
Total liabilities 45,192,661 26,737,722 69.0% 40,833,886 10.7%
Share capital 1,464 1,506 -2.8% 1,474 -0.7%
Additional paid-in capital 453,738 465,009 -2.4% 454,881 -0.3%
Treasury shares (51) (71) -28.2% (49) 4.1%
Capital redemption reserve 154 112 37.5% 145 6.2%
Other reserves 110,786 21,385 NMF 103,754 6.8%
Retained earnings 6,422,320 4,510,780 42.4% 5,947,108 8.0%
Total equity attributable to shareholders of the Group 6,988,411 4,998,721 39.8% 6,507,313 7.4%
Non-controlling interests 26,816 21,115 27.0% 24,229 10.7%
Total equity 7,015,227 5,019,836 39.8% 6,531,542 7.4%
Total liabilities and equity 52,207,888 31,757,558 64.4% 47,365,428 10.2%
Book value per share 162.77 114.62 42.0% 150.46 8.2%
Additional information
Number of employees (period-end) Dec-24 Dec-23 Change y-o-y Sep-24 Change q-o-q
Bank of Georgia (standalone) 7,954 7,435 7.0% 7,796 2.0%
Ameriabank 2,036 N/A 8 N/A 1,975 3.1%
Other 2,088 1,963 6.4% 2,051 1.8%
Group 12,078 9,398 28.5% 11,822 2.2%
Branch network (period-end)
Dec-24 Dec-23 Change y-o-y Sep-24 Change q-o-q
Bank of Georgia 189 189 0.0% 185 2.2%
Of which:
Full-scale branches 96 91 5.5% 95 1.1%
Transactional branches 93 98 -5.1% 90 3.3%
Ameriabank 25 N/A 9 N/A 26 -3.8%
Unadjusted ratios of the Group 4Q24 4Q23 3Q24 FY24 FY23
ROAA 4.1% 4.2% 4.4% 5.8% 4.8%
ROAE 29.8% 26.8 32.1% 41.2% 30.4%
Cost:income ratio 35.9% 34.2% 34.8% 34.3% 29.5%
FX rates Dec-24 Dec-23 Sep-24
GEL/USD exchange rate (period-end) 2.81 2.69 2.73
GEL/GBP exchange rate (period-end) 3.53 3.42 3.66
GEL/1000AMD exchange rate (period-end) 7.08 6.65 7.05
Shares outstanding Dec-24 Dec-23 Sep-24
Ordinary shares outstanding (period-end) 42,935,561 43,610,758 43,249,397
Treasury shares outstanding (period-end) 1,562,586 2,155,535 1,477,586
Total shares outstanding (period-end) 44,498,147 45,766,293 44,726,983
Glossary
Strategic terms
§ MAC (Monthly active customer - retail or business) Number of customers who
satisfied pre-defined activity criteria within the past month
§ Digital monthly active user (Digital MAU) Number of retail customers who
logged into our mobile or internet banking channels at least once within a
given month; when referring to business customers, Digital MAU means number of
business customers who logged into our business mobile or internet banking
channels at least once within a given month
§ Digital daily active user (Digital DAU) Average daily number of retail
customers who logged into our mobile or internet banking channels within a
given month
§ Payment MAU Number of retail customers who made at least one payment with a
BOG card within the past month
§ Net Promoter Score (NPS) NPS asks: on a scale of 0-10, how likely is it
that you would recommend Bank of Georgia to a friend or a colleague? The
responses: 9 and 10 - are promoters; 7 and 8 - are neutral; 1 to 6 - are
detractors. The final score equals the percentage of the promoters minus the
percentage of the detractors
Ratio definitions and abbreviations
§ Alternative performance measures (APMs) In this announcement the management
uses various APMs, which we believe provide additional useful information for
understanding the financial performance of the Group. These APMs are not
defined by International Financial Reporting Standards, and also may not be
directly comparable with other companies who use similar measures. We believe
that these APMs provide the best representation of our financial performance
as these measures are used by the management to evaluate the Group's operating
performance and make day-to-day operating decisions
§ Basic earnings per share Profit for the period attributable to shareholders
of the Group divided by the weighted average number of outstanding ordinary
shares over the same period
§ Book value per share Total equity attributable to shareholders of the Group
divided by ordinary shares outstanding at period-end; Ordinary shares
outstanding at period-end equals number of ordinary shares at period-end less
number of treasury shares at period-end
§ CBA Central Bank of Armenia
§ CBA Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital adequacy ratio Common Equity Tier 1
capital divided by total risk weighted assets, both calculated in accordance
with the requirements of the CBA
§ CBA Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio Tier 1 capital divided by total risk
weighted assets, both calculated in accordance with the requirements of the
CBA
§ CBA Total capital adequacy ratio Total regulatory capital divided by total
risk weighted assets, both calculated in accordance with the requirements of
the CBA
§ CBA Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) High-quality liquid assets divided by
net cash outflows over the next 30 days (as defined by the CBA)
§ CBA Net stable funding ratio (NSFR) Available amount of stable funding
divided by the required amount of stable funding (as defined by the CBA
§ Cost of credit risk ratio Expected loss on loans to customers, factoring
and finance lease receivables for the period divided by monthly average gross
loans to customers, finance lease and factoring over the same period
(annualised where applicable)
§ Cost of deposits Interest expense on client deposits and notes for the
period divided by monthly average client deposits and notes over the same
period (annualised where applicable)
§ Cost of funds Interest expense for the period divided by monthly average
interest-bearing liabilities over the same period (annualised where
applicable)
§ Cost to income ratio Operating expenses divided by operating income
§ FC Foreign currency
§ Full-scale branch A banking branch that provides all banking services
§ Interest-bearing liabilities Amounts owed to credit institutions, client
deposits and notes, and debt securities issued
§ Interest-earning assets (excluding cash) Amounts due from credit
institutions, investment securities (but excluding corporate shares) and loans
to customers, factoring and finance lease receivables
§ NBG Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) High-quality liquid assets divided by
net cash outflows over the next 30 days (as defined by the NBG). Calculations
are made for Bank of Georgia standalone, based on IFRS
§ NBG Net stable funding ratio (NSFR) Available amount of stable funding
divided by the required amount of stable funding (as defined by the NBG).
Calculations are made for Bank of Georgia standalone, based on IFRS
§ LC Local currency
§ Leverage (times) Total liabilities divided by total equity
§ Liquid assets Cash and cash equivalents, amounts due from credit
institutions and investment securities
§ Loan yield Interest income from loans to customers, factoring and finance
lease receivables for the period divided by monthly average gross loans to
customers, factoring and finance lease receivables over the same period
(annualised where applicable)
§ NBG National Bank of Georgia
§ NBG (Basel III) Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital adequacy ratio Common
Equity Tier 1 capital divided by total risk weighted assets, both calculated
in accordance with the requirements of the NBG. Calculations are made for Bank
of Georgia standalone, based on IFRS
§ NBG (Basel III) Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio Tier 1 capital divided by
total risk weighted assets, both calculated in accordance with the
requirements of the NBG. Calculations are made for Bank of Georgia standalone,
based on IFRS
§ NBG (Basel III) Total capital adequacy ratio Total regulatory capital
divided by total risk weighted assets, both calculated in accordance with the
requirements of the NBG. Calculations are made for Bank of Georgia standalone,
based on IFRS
§ Net interest margin (NIM) Net interest income for the period divided by
monthly average interest earning assets excluding cash and cash equivalents
and corporate shares over the same period (annualised where applicable)
§ Non-performing loans (NPLs) The principal and/or interest payments on loans
overdue for more than 90 days; or the exposures experiencing substantial
deterioration of their creditworthiness and the debtors assessed as unlikely
to pay their credit obligation(s) in full without realisation of collateral
§ NPL coverage ratio Allowance for expected credit loss for loans to
customers, finance lease and factoring receivables divided by NPLs
§ NPL coverage ratio adjusted for discounted value of collateral Allowance
for expected credit loss for loans to customers, finance lease and factoring
receivables added discounted value of NPL portfolio collateral divided by NPLs
(where discounted value of collateral is capped by respective loan amount)
§ One-off items Significant items that do not arise during the ordinary
course of business
§ Operating leverage Percentage change in operating income less percentage
change in operating expenses
§ Return on average total assets (ROAA) Profit for the period divided by
monthly average total assets for the same period (annualised where applicable)
§ Return on average total equity (ROAE) Profit for the period attributable to
shareholders of the Group divided by monthly average equity attributable to
shareholders of the Group for the same period (annualised where applicable)
§ Transactional branch Bank branch that is mostly used for transactional
services by clients. Such branches does not provide complex banking services,
such as issuing mortgages, services to legal clients, etc.
§ NMF No meaningful figure
Constant currency basis
To calculate the q-o-q growth of loans and deposits without the currency
exchange rate effect, we used the relevant exchange rates as at 30 September
2024. To calculate the y-o-y growth without the currency exchange rate effect,
we used the relevant exchange rates as at 31 December 2023. Constant currency
growth is calculated separately for GFS and AFS, based on their respective
underlying performance.
Lion Finance Group PLC profile
Lion Finance Group PLC (formerly Bank of Georgia Group PLC; the "Company" or
the "Group" when referring to the group companies as a whole) is a FTSE 250
holding company whose main subsidiaries provide banking and financial services
focused in the high-growth Georgian and Armenian markets through leading,
customer-centric, universal banks - Bank of Georgia in Georgia and Ameriabank
in Armenia. By building on our competitive strengths, we are committed to
driving business growth, sustaining high profitability, and generating strong
returns, while creating opportunities for our stakeholders and making a
positive contribution in the communities where we operate.
Lion Finance Group PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market in
the Equity Shares (Commercial Companies) category and is a constituent of the
FTSE 250 index. Ticker: BGEO.
Legal entity identifier: 213800XKDG12NQG8VC53
Registered address: 29 Farm Street, London, W1J 5RL, United Kingdom;
Registered under number 10917019 in England and Wales
Company secretary: Computershare Company Secretarial Services Limited (The
Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol BS13 8FD, United Kingdom)
Registrar: Computershare Investor Services PLC (The Pavilions Bridgwater Road,
Bristol BS99 6ZZ, United Kingdom)
Please note that Investor Centre is a free, secure online service run by our
Registrar, Computershare, giving you convenient access to information on your
shareholdings.
Investor Centre Web Address: www.uk.computershare.com/Investor/#Home
(http://www.uk.computershare.com/Investor/#Home)
Investor Centre Shareholder Helpline: +44 (0)370 873 5866
Auditors: Ernst & Young LLP (25 Churchill Place Canary Wharf, London E14
5EY, United Kingdom)
Contacts:
Email: ir@lfg.uk (mailto:ir@lfg.uk)
Telephone: +44(0) 203 178 4052
Michael Oliver (Advisor to the CEO): moliver@lfg.uk (mailto:moliver@lfg.uk) ;
+44 203 178 4034
Sam Goodacre (Advisor to the CEO): sgoodacre@lfg.uk (mailto:sgoodacre@lfg.uk)
; +44 745 398 8513
Nini Arshakuni (Head of Investor Relations): narshakuni@lfg.uk
(mailto:narshakuni@lfg.uk) ; +44 203 178 4034
Further information
For more on results publications, go to Results Centre on
https://lionfinancegroup.uk/results-center/quarterly-earnings/
(https://lionfinancegroup.uk/results-center/quarterly-earnings/)
For more on investor information, go to
https://lionfinancegroup.uk/investor-information/shareholder-meetings/
(https://lionfinancegroup.uk/investor-information/shareholder-meetings/)
For news updates, go to https://lionfinancegroup.uk/news/news-announcements/
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Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including, but not
limited to, statements concerning expectations, projections, objectives,
targets, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance,
capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or intentions relating to
acquisitions, competitive strengths and weaknesses, plans or goals relating to
financial position and future operations and development. Although Lion
Finance Group PLC believes that the expectations and opinions reflected in
such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that
such expectations and opinions will prove to have been correct. By their
nature, these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies, and actual results and events
could differ materially from those currently being anticipated as reflected in
such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements,
certain of which are beyond our control, include, among other things: macro
risk, including domestic instability; geopolitical risk; credit risk;
liquidity and funding risk; capital risk; market risk; regulatory and legal
risk; conduct risk; financial crime risk; information security and data
protection risks; operational risk; human capital risk; model risk; strategic
risk; reputational risk; climate-related risk; and other key factors that
could adversely affect our business and financial performance, as indicated
elsewhere in this document and in past and future filings and reports of the
Group, including the 'Principal risks and uncertainties' included in Lion
Finance Group PLC's Annual Report and Accounts 2023 and in 1H24 Results. No
part of this document constitutes, or shall be taken to constitute, an
invitation or inducement to invest in Lion Finance Group PLC or any other
entity within the Group, and must not be relied upon in any way in connection
with any investment decision. Lion Finance Group PLC and other entities within
the Group undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to
the extent legally required. Nothing in this document should be construed as a
profit forecast.
1 Year-on-year comparisons are given for informational purposes only as
Ameriabank was not part of the Group as at 31 December 2023.
2 In 4Q24, GEL 2.7m was recorded as a one-off item, due to a reversal of the
Ameriabank-acquisition-related fee. In FY24, GEL 672.2m was recorded as a
one-off item comprising a one-off gain on bargain purchase and
acquisition-related costs in AFS. Operating income before cost of risk and
subsequent lines in the income statement as well as ROAA and ROAE were
adjusted for these one-off items.
Due to the settlement of a legacy claim, the fair value revaluation of the
receivable resulted in a one-off other income of GEL 21.1m posted in 2Q23 and
GEL 1.5m posted in 4Q23 in GFS. Net other income was adjusted for this
one-off. As a result, ROAA, ROAE and Cost:income ratio were adjusted for
one-off other income in FY23. Comparisons given in text are with adjusted
figures of the respective periods.
3 Throughout this announcement, gross loans to customers and the related
allowance for impairment are presented net of expected credit loss (ECL) on
contractually accrued interest income. These do not have an effect on the net
loans to customers' balance. Management believes that netted-off balances
provide the best representation of the loan portfolio position.
4 For FY24, ROAA, net interest margin, loan yield, liquid assets yield, cost
of funds, cost of client deposits and notes, cost of amounts owed to credit
institutions, cost of debt securities issued, and cost of credit risk ratio
were adjusted to exclude the effect of Ameriabank's consolidation at the end
of March on average balances.
5 Calculated based on financial statements of local banks.
6 Includes current accounts, time deposits and issued local bonds.
7 Ratios are calculated based on quarter averages.
8 The number of Ameriabank's employees amounted to 1,812 as at 31 December
2023. The figure is not included in the table, as Ameriabank was not part of
the Group as at 31 December 2023.
9 Ameriabank had 26 branches as at 31 December 2023. The figure is not
included in the table, as Ameriabank was not part of the Group as at 31
December 2023.
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