“The Supervisory Board notes that Nova KBM is consistently implementing the commitments it has given to the European Commission, and is continuing to deliver strong and stable performance, as suggested by its positive operating results reported for the first quarter of the year. Moreover, the operating costs incurred at the Nova KBM Group level were reduced by 4.7% compared to the corresponding period last year, thanks to measures taken to streamline the business processes”, Peter Kukovica, Chairman of the Nova KBM Supervisory Board, said, among other things, after the meeting.
In line with the adopted restructuring programme and the commitments given to the European Commission, Nova KBM is reducing its risk-weighted assets, while at the same time ensuring it maintains a robust capital base and a comfortable liquidity position. “We expect that the actions taken to strengthen the risk management system and enhance the management of NPLs, as well as to ensure profitable and reliable performance, will be the main focus of the Group in the forthcoming months”, Kukovica also emphasised yesterday after the Supervisory Board had been informed of the initiatives taken by the relevant departments to reduce the level of the Nova KBM Group´s NPLs, and of the progress in the implementation of the NPL management strategy.
Robert Senica, President of the Nova KBM Management Board, said that the results of both Nova KBM and its group for the first quarter of the year were positive and exceeded the projections. This favourable trend continued into April, with Nova KBM posting a cumulative net profit of €21.7 million, thereby considerably outperforming the projection. The cost-to-income ratio (CIR), a metric used to measure the efficiency of operations, improved as well, declining to 51.87% in the case of Nova KBM, and to 55.95% in the case of the Nova KBM Group. The results reported for the first quarter of the year also prove that the Nova KBM Group´s companies have been successful in utilising the synergies of their integration. “We provide a broad range of first-grade and competitive, contemporary financial services that enable us to respond to the demands of our customers in an efficient and increasingly proactive manner. Our customers remain at the centre of our business, and over the next few weeks, we will devote particular attention to those belonging to the SME segment”, the President of the Nova KBM Management Board said.
The Nova KBM Group´s consolidation activities are proceeding according to the restructuring programme, with the main focus being placed on the banking segment. On 23 March 2015, Adria Bank terminated its banking operations, thereby meeting the conditions to return its banking licence to the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). By the end of May, Adria Bank is expected to change its legal form from a joint stock company to a limited liability company, after which it will file for liquidation. The liquidation of the Nova KBM Group´s leasing companies (KBM Leasing, Gorica Leasing and KBM Leasing Hrvatska) is progressing on schedule, while the sale of KBM Banka in Serbia is currently at the stage where work is being carried out with respect to a due diligence review and the receipt of a preliminary opinion from the relevant Serbian regulator regarding the sale of KBM Banka to a new owner. As regards the integration of PBS´s operations into those of Nova KBM, an assessment of the integration scenarios is under way.
